Early November: Raking and planting perennials

Leaves are falling and the temperature feels like autumn, so it is time to rake leaves. The new mantra is to not rake because we know many insects use the protection of fallen leaves to survive the winter and those insects are the larvae of pollinators and food for birds. There is a happy medium. Lots of leaves on the lawn tend to mat together and form impenetrable barriers to grass in the spring. These leaves can be raked up and put out on the street to be picked up and turned into compost for next year. These leaves can also be collected and saved for your own uses next year as mulch around vegetable plants. I use old leaky garbage barrels to store leaves for next year, the leaves do mat down and do prevent weeds around tomato and squash plants. The other, loose blowing around leaves, are left to accumulate next to foundations and around shrubs unmolested over the winter. This is also a good time to plant perennials such as trees, shrubs and bulbs. The plants are dormant and will not try to grow in the cold, but will establish roots and acclimate to their new homes. Dig a hole two to three times the width of the root ball and the same depth as the root ball, put the plant in and use the removed soil to refill. Since the plant will be staying in the same place for many years I work some bone meal and compost in with the replacement soil. Water the plant thoroughly to wash soil into any air pockets and mulch with two to four inches of mulch that is not in contact with the trunk (no volcano mulching!). Use stakes to stabilize the tree if it is unsteady. Treat shrubs the same way. There are different ways to plant bulbs depending on what final appearance you want. If you want a clump of tulips or daffodils excavate a hole large enough to accommodate all the bulbs with space between each, backfill with soil to which bone meal has been added. If you want to plant bulbs individually there are tools that remove a bulb sized portion of soil. A screen or grate covering the newly planted bulbs will discourage squirrels. Mark on your garden map where you have planted bulbs so you are not uncovering previous plantings. Clumps of bulbs that have stopped flowering can be divided at this time. Lift the whole clump, larger bulbs will flower and smaller ones will grow and flower in future years so put a mixture of both in the places you replant. The soil in the original location will be depleted of nutrients, add bone meal and compost to the replacement soil. Protect bulbs from squirrels. There is much clean-up to do in the garden, still working on it. The ground will not freeze for a couple of months, giving me some leeway to lifting the dahlias. Enjoy the fall colors and the brisk feel outdoors. Susan Carty is professor emerita at Heidelberg University.