FROM THE BOARD 



THE FORGOTTEN SEASON 



Andrea Capron 



TOO OFTEN, fall is a forgot- 

 ten season in perennial gar- 

 dens. If your gardens have 

 faded out by the end of the 

 summer, think about adding 

 some fall color for next season. 

 Native New England Aster 

 (Aster novaeangliae), chrysan- 

 themums, several sedum variet- 

 ies such as Sedum 'Autumn 

 Jay' (or 'Brilliancy'), and 

 Boltonia asteroides all bloom m 

 the fall. Also consider planting 

 ornamental grasses that come 

 into their glory late in the 

 season. 



Early fall, with its cooler 

 temperatures and more fre- 

 quent rain, is also a good time 

 for dividing — and an especially 

 good time for dividing early 

 spring bloomers like phlox spe- 

 cies {Phlox subuiata and P. 

 stolonifera) . 



Maintenance is another im- 

 portant step in the fall. Con- 

 tinue deadheading and trim- 

 ming back. 



AFTER FROST, 



YOU CAN CUT BACK 



TO THE GROUND 



PERENNIALS 



THAT USUALLY 



DIE BACK— 



OR YOU CAN LET 



THE STEMS AND 



FLOWER HEADS STAND, 



TO ADD INTEREST 



TO THE 



WINTER 



LANDSCAPE. 



If autumn is really dry, continue 

 watering your perennials as thor- 

 oughly as usual. After frost, you 

 can cut back to the ground 

 perennials that usually die back — 

 or you can let the stems and flower 

 heads stand, to add interest to the 

 winter landscape. Old flower heads 

 of sedum, purple coneflower 

 {Echinacea spp.), and black-eyed 



susan {Rudbeckia spp.) contrast 

 well against the snow. 



It is a good idea to mulch 

 perennials deeply for winter 

 after the ground has froien — 

 not to protect them from freez- 

 ing and the cold, but to insulate 

 them from alternating cycles of 

 freezing and thawing. Repeated 

 freezing/thawing cycles can dam- 

 age roots and crowns and even 

 heave your plants right out of 

 the ground. Use a mulch that 

 will not mat down and smother 

 the crowns. 



Hopefully, this advice will be 

 helpful to those home gardeners 

 who will be spending time this 

 winter planning that perfect pe- 

 rennial garden — the one you'll 

 have next year — the one with-' 

 out drought, bugs, or disease and 

 with perfectly color-coordinated 

 flowers that bloom from early 

 spring to late fall. ^ 



Andrea Capron is co-muner of 

 Deer Cap Orchards, Center 

 Ossipee, NH. 



October/November 1992 



