Fall foliage time

Well, friends, As much as I hate to admit it, it seems our “growing season” is over for this year. Soon you’ll be seeing sprinklers being “blown out” all over your neighborhood. If that isn’t a sign of the times, I don’t know what is.

I noticed our annual ash aphid invasion has begun. They seem to arrive every year in early October. Walking near an ash tree is not a fun experience as the clouds of tiny blue-winged aphids often get into your eyes and mouth. Not a fun experience. Luckily, they will soon mate, lay their eggs and croak.

Be sure to pick any stray tomatoes, as frozen tomatoes aren’t much of a delicacy. Keep an eye on the forecast. As of this writing, no freeze has hit my yard… yet. This may not be true by the time this hits print, but I can dream, can’t I?

A lot of annuals will croak the minute the thermometer hits 32, but you may notice quite a few that don’t. There’s a big difference between the tender annuals, such as marigolds, and those that are “half hardy” perennials, grown as annuals. These include petunias and snapdragons, plus a few others. You can enjoy those a while longer.

Once the freeze hits, dahlias are some of the first to “give up the ghost.” Their leaves will turn black immediately. If you’d like to save over the tubers, it isn’t that hard to do. Wait a week after that freeze, then dig the tubers, clean off as much soil as you can and bring the tubers indoors. I have good luck with storing individual tubers in small paper bags which are partly filled with wood shavings, such as those used for guinea pigs.

Be sure to write the color and/or name of that dahlia on each bag. Store these in a cool, (not under 40) dark place for the winter. Be sure to check on them every month or so. Open the bag to dry them out if they appear to be too wet. Spray with a bit of water, if too dry.

If you haven’t already cut your raspberry canes back, do it now. Cut the brown canes to the ground, as they produced berries this summer and won’t again. Cut the green canes to about 4-feet tall. These will produce berries next summer. I hope your canes created as much fruit as mine did this year as I picked for a solid month and have countless bags of raspberries in the freezer.

Continue to purchase and plant bulbs this month. Don’t wait too long as they need to be planted before the ground freezes. When you are choosing bulbs to buy, be sure to note the recommended planting zone. Too often, I’m seeing things such as paperwhite narcissus and ranunculus for sale locally. These are not hardy enough to survive our winters.

We are being blessed with some outstanding fall foliage. The colors are always in those leaves, but are obscured from view all summer by the green chlorophyll. In the fall that starts to fade away when triggered by the long cool nights and shorter warm days. We all hear about how gorgeous the foliage is in Vermont and that area. Hey, good old North Idaho is no slouch in this department either!

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Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is currently serving as secretary for the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her column appears in The Press every other Sunday from early March until late October.