November is almost here! Now is the time to prepare your home and garden for cooler weather and refresh your outdoor spaces with gorgeous fall color. Unsure of where to start? Here are 6 helpful tips for your gardening success!
GARDENING TIP #1: PLANT COOL SEASON COLOR
Annuals provide your landscape with a wide palette of hues. Cool season color has a stronger tolerance to chilly conditions and can last throughout the fall and winter seasons. You can adorn your flowerbeds or containers with fresh flowers to make a strong visual impact. Here are a few wonderful choices that our Texas Certified Nursery Professionals recommend planting now in your Texas garden.
Matrix® Pansies
Matrix® Pansies are beautiful cool season flowers. They are prized for their large and vibrant blooms. Matrix® Pansies come in a variety of colors with different “faces”. There are blotch pansies with dark centers or clear pansies that shine in one lovely hue.
These flowers are frost tolerant and will thrive in full sun to partial shade.
Snapdragons
Snapdragons are a classic flower with tall sturdy stalks. They are vibrant and full of color. The spikes of blooms are lightly scented, making them an excellent choice for cut flowers or to attract friendly pollinators to your garden. Snapdragons are best grown in full sun with moist soil conditions.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen have eye-catching jewel-toned petals among a cascade of heart-shaped leaves. These distinctive features make them a delight for containers and gardens. They have tall stems which gives them a stately appearance. Cyclamen does best in partial shade and may require more frequent watering when grown in containers.
Ornamental Cabbage & Kale
Ornamental Cabbage and Kale provides attractive fall color while also adding amazing texture and foliage to your landscape. Ornamental Cabbage has fluffy leaves with compact rosettes that come in various shades of white, pink, and purple. As the weather gets cooler, the leaves will become more vibrant.
Ornamental Kale is a favorite for fall gardens! It grows with dissected leaves and is great for adding rich colors and textures to your sunny flowerbeds and containers.
GARDENING TIP #2: UPDATE YOUR LANDSCAPE WITH TREES & SHRUBS
Fall is for planting trees and shrubs! Trees and shrubs add drama, symmetry, and style to your landscape. They can increase the value of your home, help prevent soil erosion, and even provide shelter for our friendly pollinators during the winter months. Planting trees and shrubs this month will provide more time for the roots to establish before our next Texas summer.
Trees
Bloodgood Japanese Maple trees are possibly the most popular of fall trees. The rich-burgundy-purple palm-shaped foliage lasts all season long. The gray bark and red branches add interest and dimension to any landscape. Oak Trees are another great option. Try the Shumard Red Oak or Southern Live Oak. A Shumard Red Oak is a tall, stately shade tree. It grows with an attractive pyramidal habit, and it produces beautiful fall color. Southern Live Oaks are graceful southern natives. They can produce massive horizontal limbs covered with evergreen foliage, making it the ideal shade tree.
Shrubs
For a structured look, try planting Baby Gem™ Boxwoods in your landscape. This compact boxwood is great for smaller areas; as it slowly grows it forms a rounded, dense mound. It is extremely versatile and takes pruning exceptionally well. To add color, try Kaleidoscope Abelia or Sunshine Ligustrum. Kaleidoscope Abelias have brilliant yellow gold and deep green variegated foliage. It produces white flowers in the summer and fall. Sunshine Ligustrum has dense foliage that matures to a vibrant gold.
GARDENING TIP #3: FILL YOUR HOME WITH INDOOR PLANTS
Growing plants indoors can benefit you and your home in many ways. They help control moisture, purify the air, and add an element of natural beauty to any space. Plus, when you pair these lovely plants with our gorgeous selection of pottery, you can add even more style and beauty to your home!
For lush greenery, Dracaena is a fantastic choice for your home. It comes in a variety of styles, textures, and colors to perfectly suit your space. They are easy to care for and they thrive in bright light.
Looking for indoor blooms? Try Kalanchoe! Available in shades of orange, red, yellow, and more, this low-maintenance plant is in the succulent family! The clusters of flowers are long-lasting and can provide indoor color for weeks on end.
To view more of our indoor plant collection, click here! You can find a wide range of impressive choices to suit any space in any home!
GARDENING TIP #4: FEED YOUR PLANTS
Plant food is the best way to give your plants an extra boost for stronger, healthier roots, and brighter color. It also will give them extra nourishment and nutrients that they will need to thrive during the upcoming cooler weather.
Feed your flowers, trees, shrubs, and indoor plants today with Calloway’s Premium Plant Foods! Calloway’s Premium Flower Food is ideal for all blooming annuals like Cyclamen, Pansies, Petunias, and more. It will give keep your flowers thriving and colorful. Calloway’s Premium Tree & Shrub Plant Food will help your plants grow with more vibrant foliage and promote new growth. Calloway’s Flowering Shrub Plant Food helps your blooming shrubs flourish. It is ideal for flowering shrubs like Azaleas, Hydrangeas, Gardenias, and more. Calloway’s Premium Tropical Plant Food is great for indoor plants, and other tropical plants like Hibiscus and Bougainvillea.
Feeding your lawn now is also extremely important. Fall fertilization is key to prolonging the color and it can even help for early spring recovery. Applying fertilizer now can also help produce a dense turf to better resist winter weeds. Try Calloway’s Premium Lawn Food for new lawns or use Phosphorus Free for established lawns. For a natural approach, use Calloway’s Natural Lawn & Garden Food. It is made with our exclusive formula of natural and organic ingredients. You can even use our Natural Lawn & Garden Food on your vegetables or flowerbeds!
GARDENING TIP #5: GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Take advantage of the weather and get outside in your garden. Finish up any last-minute maintenance before the winter season arrives. Walk around your yard and see what areas need to be addressed.
Check your trees for any dead or damaged branches and remove them before the trees lose all their leaves. This will help prevent any limbs from breaking during potential ice storms or strong winds and it will help protect the overall health of your tree.
Continue to mow your lawn up until the first official freeze. It’s good exercise! When the first freeze hits, your lawn will go into dormancy for the winter.
GARDENING TIP #6: PREPARE FOR THE COLD
We all know Texas weather can be unpredictable. As we have seen in the past couple of years, winter weather can hit fast and hit hard. Get prepared now and be ready to protect your plants. Pick up your N-Sulate Frost Protection Blankets. N-Sulate is formulated to resist UV degradation, and it allows air and water to easily pass through the fabric.
SHOP WITH EASE
At Calloway’s and Cornelius, we have everything you need for your November Garden! Stop by and explore our entire collection of plants, pottery, garden tools, and more! Shop our neighborhood stores or shop online now!
Have questions? Ask our Texas Certified Nursery Professionals; they are here to help!
