With frost a common occurrence this past weekend, our reminder of the impending winter season has been served. There are several things to consider for the season, and use the nice warm days to catch up. Indian Summer is now officially here after the frost.

Leaves have begun to drop. There has been much debate about the leaf colors this year, due to the type of weather we had this summer. While the red colors may not have developed as well, fall still provides a dazzling pallet of colors. Of course, the maples provide much of the flashy color. This year it does seem the maples such as the sugars and reds have more of a golden color, that doesn't mean it isn't a sight to behold. The oaks and hickories provide a great backdrop of browns to highlight the yellow to orange colors.

Leaves always provide some interesting family discussions. Usually the discussions revolve around raking, not raking, mowing, composting, etc. Does it hurt to mow leaves rather than rake? In most cases, it doesn't hurt a bit. It is like mowing the grass. If you do it often enough, it's fine. If you wait too long, you get to rake or catch. The rule of thumb is if you bridge the mowed material up on the grass, you need to remove it. Another option is to rake and compost. While temperatures and material to mix in compost don't work as well in the fall, the resulting material is a great mulch for next year in the garden, flower beds, and around shrubs and trees. Leaves will smother grass if they are allowed to pile up.

Many of the tomato plants were blackened over the weekend. You might still be able to salvage fruits by picking them. A few may be placed on the kitchen counter to ripen. One option to ripen them faster is to place a few in a paper sack with a banana, or banana peels. Bananas give off ethylene, which is the same product used to ripen tomatoes sold in many stores.

Any remaining pumpkins or gourds should be cut from the vine before the vine rots back into the fruit. Leave at least a two inch stub of the vine if possible. Once any type of vine or stem rots into the fruit, the fruit decomposes quickly. This rule of thumb also applies to tender bulbs.

Keep mowing that grass. With improved moisture conditions, many lawns are in the best shape they have been in since April. The frost will start to slow things down, but continue to remove no more than a third of the leaf blade at any mowing. Of course, this will also help the leaf situation by chopping some up. The other thing to consider is the neighbors leaves will blow off of their newly mowed yard, and they will catch on your longer grass if it is not mowed.

With another three quarter of an inch of rain last week, we have added some moisture for perennials. It is important to keep moisture available for perennials as we head into the fall, particularly for evergreens. Adequate moisture, and mulch, will help the evergreens through the late fall and winter months. Use of an anti-transpirant such as Wilt Pruf will also help evergreens during the winter months. Applications are usually made just before freezing temperatures become the norm.

Logan County Extension Office

Week ending	Rainfall in inches	Week ending	Rainfall in inches
3/11	.14	7/8	.92
3/18	.02	7/15	Missed recording/added in 7/22
3/25	1.24	7/22	2.28
4/1	.34	7/29	.24
4/8	.12	8/5	0.0
4/15	.80	8/12	.12
4/22	0.0	8/19	.28
4/29	1.32	8/26	.68
5/6	.94	9/2	0.0
5/13	0.0	9/9	1.22
5/20	.6	9/16	.32
5/27	.56	9/23	0
6/3	1.4	9/30	.6
6/10	0.0	10/7	1.52
6/17	0.0	10/14	0.0
6/24	3.12	10/21	.72
7/1	1.10	10/28	.68
Subtotal 3/11-7/1	11.7	Subtotal 7/8-10/28	9.58

Tender flowering "bulbs" produce some of our most colorful summer blooms. Gladiolus, canna, tuberous begonia and others are commonly grown throughout the U.S.

These plants need special care since freezing kills them. The "bulbs" (in reality tubers, rhizomes and corms, in addition to true bulbs) need to be dug up and stored indoors just like potatoes, onions or carrots. Harvesting these bulbs takes the same care as vegetable harvesting.

While the different flowering plants require different handling techniques (i.e., gladiolus differ from cannas, dahlias and tuberous begonias), they all require the same care in handling.

Gladiolus grow from corms. The corms should be dug once the foliage has matured or after frost. Lift the corms carefully from the ground to avoid losing the small cormels that will be future glads.

Cut the tip an inch above the corms, and cure the corms for two to four weeks in a warm spot with good air circulation. Brush off any dried soil with a soft cloth. Remove the old shriveled corm on the bottom of the new tan one.

Before storing the corms, dust them with an insecticide-fungicide mixture. This will prevent the corms from rotting and will control thrips. Store the corms in onion bags or old nylon stockings hung in a place with a temperature of 35 to 45 F and good air circulation.

Dahlias grow from tubers. Cut dahlia tops back to within three to four inches of the soil after the first frost. Dig carefully to avoid damaging the fleshy roots or breaking off the new eyes. Cure dahlias the same way as glads for one to three days. Keep as much of the soil attached as possible.

Store dahlias in a box or plastic bag, packed with vermiculite, peat moss or wood chips, to prevent drying out. Dahlia tubers should be completely covered and stored at a cool 35 to 45 F.

The tubers should be inspected several times throughout the winter; and, if they start to shrivel, sprinkle the packing material lightly with water. If conditions are too moist and roots start to rot, move the tubers to a drier place and remove rotted portions.

Treat canna roots similar to dahlia. Except, store canna roots upside down in a shallow box. Cannas do not require covering. Hold the roots in 45 to 50 F storage temperatures.

Tuberous begonias should be dug before the first frost. Cut tops back to two inches, and dry the tubers in a frost-free location for two weeks. Store the begonias like dahlias but at a higher temperature–between 45 and 55 F.

Tuberoses should be cut back after frost and their bulbs stored in sand or vermiculite-filled plastic bags at 55 to 60 F.

Peruvian daffodil bulbs should be dug before frost and stored upside down in vermiculite or dry sand. Store these at the same temperature need for tuberoses.

Check your bulbs, tubers, corms and roots throughout the storage season, and make any necessary changes in their conditions so that they will make it through the winter in good shape.

Many of the roses that are classified as old garden roses are extremely tolerant of cold temperatures, while others like hybrid teas experience considerable damage. Also, budded roses stand a greater chance of injury or death due to severe cold than do own-root roses. When selecting roses, always select cultivars that are able to tolerate the coldest temperatures in your area based on USDA hardiness zone maps. One of the ways to protect roses for the winter is to be sure they go completely dormant. To accomplish this, stop fertilizing early enough so growth slows down. No fertilizer should be applied after August 15. To further encourage dormancy, stop dead-heading or cutting flowers after October 1 and allow the plant to form hips.

There are many methods to provide winter protection for roses. The whole idea of winter protection is to keep the plant uniformly cold and frozen all winter and prevent the damaging effects of alternate freezing and thawing. Whatever the method, don't begin covering plants too early. Wait until a hard killing frost has caused most of the leaves to fall, and the temperature has dropped into the teens for several nights. Prior to covering, remove any foliage or other debris that might harbor disease for the next season.

Before covering, some tall roses may need minor pruning to reduce their height, and tie canes together to prevent wind whipping. Pruning at this point should be kept to a minimum. Most pruning will be done in the spring to remove dead and diseased canes.

The most common way to provide winter protection is to pile or "hill-up" a loose, soil and compost mix around and over the plant about 10-12 inches deep. A variety of hilling materials can be used, but the key is to be sure that the material is well drained. Wet and cold is far more damaging than dry and cold. Soil that is used to "hill-up" plants should be brought in from outside the rose garden. After the soil mound has frozen, the mound can be covered with evergreen boughs, hardwood leaves, or straw to help insulate and keep the soil frozen.

A variation of the "hilling" method is one utilizing collars. An 18-inch-high circle of hardware cloth or chicken wire is placed around the plant. The collar is filled with soil, allowed to freeze, then mulched with straw. The benefit of the collar is that it holds the soil in place all winter and prevents it from being washed or eroded away.

Another popular method of winter protection for roses is the use of styrofoam rose cones. If these are used, they need to be used properly. First, don't cover the plants too early. Follow the general timing guidelines. Second, cones need to be well ventilated by cutting holes around the top and bottom of the cones. This helps prevent heat build-up on the inside during sunny winter days. It is also advisable to mound soil around the crown of the plant before putting the cone in place. For extremely tender varieties, some rose growers cut the top off the cone and stuff it full of straw for added protection. It is also a good idea to weight the cone down with a brick or stone to keep it from blowing away.

Climbing roses offer more challenges. For marginal varieties, climbers may need to be removed from their supports and bent to the ground, then covered with six inches of soil and mulched. When laying climbers on the ground for covering, one needs to be very careful not to injure or crack the stems. As the weather gets colder their long stems are more rigid, and they are easily broken.

Another method that can be used is to physically pack straw around the canes while they are still attached to the trellis or support. The straw is held in place with twine to keep it in place over the winter.

Logan County Extension Office

Week ending	Rainfall in inches	Week ending	Rainfall in inches
3/11	.14	7/8	.92
3/18	.02	7/15	Missed recording/added in 7/22
3/25	1.24	7/22	2.28
4/1	.34	7/29	.24
4/8	.12	8/5	0.0
4/15	.80	8/12	.12
4/22	0.0	8/19	.28
4/29	1.32	8/26	.68
5/6	.94	9/2	0.0
5/13	0.0	9/9	1.22
5/20	.6	9/16	.32
5/27	.56	9/23	0
6/3	1.4	9/30	.6
6/10	0.0	10/7	1.52
6/17	0.0	10/14	0.0
6/24	3.12	10/21	.72
7/1	1.10

The last week has found the lowly millipede taking homes by storm. If millipedes were insects, they would deserve insect of the week honors. Since they are not insects, we'll just dub them "pest of the week."

What are millipedes? They belong to the arthropod class Diplododa, which means double footed. The reason is simple: they have two legs per body segment. There are many different types of millipedes, over 1000 actually. They prefer to live in moist places, such as under mulch, in flower beds, in good quality lawns, and under wood. They feed on decaying organic matter, and occasionally on tender leaves or roots.

Millipedes lay eggs in the soil in spring and summer months, and usually overwinter as the adults that we are seeing now. The big problem with millipedes is that they migrate. Right now they may be migrating through your living room. Nobody knows for sure why they migrate, but the best guesses involve searching for food sources and seeking moisture.

Unlike centipedes, millipedes don't bite or sting. They do give off a bad odor when disturbed or smashed. Be careful crushing them on carpeting, as they can cause a stain. If you're not sure whether you have millipedes or centipedes, here are some differences: centipedes have on leg per body segment while millipedes have two, centipedes normally have much longer legs than millipedes, and centipedes move rapidly while millipedes move slowly.

Now that we know a little about millipedes, How do we get rid of them? Well, there isn't a simple answer (or I'd be rich), but an integrated program gives the best results. A program that uses both chemical and non-chemical methods is usually most effective.

Non-chemical controls aim at removing the moist resting places. Dethatch your lawn to reduce that damp thatch layer just above the soil surface, closely mow and edge the lawn to allow it to dry quickly, remove debris that provides hiding places, pull mulch away from the house, water grass in the early morning, and keep leaves from piling up along the foundation. The crumbling leaf material is an ideal cover and food source for millipedes. Use of glue boards for mice will also catch an amazing number of millipedes.

If millipedes get inside the house, the vacuum cleaner is probably the best control. It is non-chemical and prevents stains from smashed millipedes. Other controls in the home include: sticky boards such as are used for mouse control, aerosol sprays that are used for flying insects, and baseboard spays used for ants.

Outside the house, start with a foundation spray of something such as propoxur, bifenthrin, permethrin, or Sevin. Spray the foundation and the adjacent foot or so of soil and plants or lawn. Make sure you treat doorways and other openings as well. Since millipedes aren't insects to begin with, don't expect a complete wipe-out with a chemical spray program.

Logan County Extension Office

Week ending	Rainfall in inches	Week ending	Rainfall in inches
3/11	.14	7/1	1.10
3/18	.02	7/8	.92
3/25	1.24	7/15	Missed recording/added in 7/22
4/1	.34	7/22	2.28
4/8	.12	7/29	.24
4/15	.80	8/5	0.0
4/22	0.0	8/12	.12
4/29	1.32	8/19	.28
5/6	.94	8/26	.68
5/13	0.0	9/2	0.0
5/20	.6	9/9	1.22
5/27	.56	9/16	.32
6/3	1.4	9/23	0
6/10	0.0	9/30	.6
6/17	0.0	10/7	1.52
6/24	3.12

Fall has been with us by the calendar, and now temperatures are looking like they are going to coincide with what we consider fall. Fall brings many opportunities to do things before winter, but many are best left undone.

To begin with, you may have noticed a very large number of brown needles on evergreens this fall. That may even have translated to large piles of needles under your evergreens in the past few weeks, especially white pines. In most cases there is no cause to worry. Evergreens usually only keep one to four years of needles (one to two years growth for white pines) on the ends of branches. Depending on weather, the old needles will turn brown and drop off. Usually this is a gradual process that isn't noticed too much. This year is happened all at once. If the buds on branch tips are plump and green, odds are your tree is fine. There are a few species of pines, such as white and Austrian, where problems may be severe. White pines may suddenly wilt and die. They are not well adapted to many of our weather extremes such as hot, cold, very wet, or very dry. The sudden decline and death of white pines is caused by environment, and not some treatable affliction. Austrian pines are very susceptible to several fungal diseases, and their life expectancy without consistent treatment will be in the 30 to 40 year range.

Several calls have come in concerning the proper time to prune or cut things back. Let's start with some flowers. Keep in mind that perennials keep building their food reserves until all the leaves and stems are brown. For peonies and other similar flowers, you want to wait until all the above ground plant parts are brown. Then you can mow them off, or cut them at ground level. This same principal goes for most perennial flowers – wait until the above ground parts are no longer green. Remember many forbs and flowers such as mums keep much of their stored energy for the winter in the couple of inches above ground.

For trees and shrubs, pruning is best done at other times. Flowering shrubs should be done after they flower, high sap flow trees are best done in December, and most other trees are best done in February. The evergreen trees and shrubs are best done in late June.

Keep mowing that grass until it stops growing. Keep in mind that you should remove no more that 1/3 of the leaf blade at any mowing. This helps reduce the thatch build up that can lead to disease problems. At this mowing frequency, there is no need to catch clippings or use a thatching system (unless you are thatching leaves as you go).

Plan for next year's garden planting scheme now. It wouldn't hurt a bit to apply some lawn and garden limestone to the entire area, especially those where you will have tomatoes, green beans, and peas. The only areas to not put lime on are areas where acid-loving crops, such as blueberries, will be. Assuming you are applying about a pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, apply about 4.25 pounds of lime to the same area. This rate would also be appropriate for lawns.

If you are looking to use the iron chlorosis plugs for pin oaks or sweet gums, between December and February are the best months to insert the plugs. During this time, the sap should be low in the trees and it will pick up the micronutrients as it rises in the spring. This should help you get away from the symptoms of light colored leaves and premature browning of leaves.

The spruce spider mite is one of the main reasons we have generally ugly, old spruces in our area. The mites cause the death of branch tips on spruce trees, and give the appearance the trees are dying from the ground up. Of course, there are other diseases that give similar symptoms, but the spruce spider mite is an every-year occurance.

Generally, the spruce spider mite starts earlier in the season than many of its relatives. Late March isn't uncommon, but April is more like it to have these small pests causing damage. There is also a corresponding time in the fall from lat September through early November. The mites suck plant juices out, and inject toxins back into the plant. Feeding damage first shows as small brown spots (small as in using a magnifying glass). From a distance, damaged needles may appear mottled or bronze.

To check for spruce spider mites, hold a sheet of white paper under affected branches. Shake the branches, and check for "moving dust specks." Larger moving specks may be predatory mites. If they are smashed on the paper, the predatory mites generally leave a red streak. If several predatory mites are present, there is usually no need to apply a control.

Controls for spider mites might include a hard stream of water to knock them off the plants. Of course, this is only a temporary solution. Sprays of insecticidal soap, bifenthrin, or a summer oil will control populations by killing the mites. A new product acequinocyl (Shuttle) has just come on the market for mite control, but may be hard to find in the area. Controls should be applied before mid-May to prevent egg laying for the next generation during the spring, and by mid-October for the fall period.

Logan County Extension Office

Week ending	Rainfall in inches	Week ending	Rainfall in inches
3/11	.14	6/24	3.12
3/18	.02	7/1	1.10
3/25	1.24	7/8	.92
4/1	.34	7/15	Missed recording/added in 7/22
4/8	.12	7/22	2.28
4/15	.80	7/29	.24
4/22	0.0	8/5	0.0
4/29	1.32	8/12	.12
5/6	.94	8/19	.28
5/13	0.0	8/26	.68
5/20	.6	9/2	0.0
5/27	.56	9/9	1.22
6/3	1.4	9/16	.32
6/10	0.0	9/23	0
6/17	0.0	9/30	.6

Today I'll attempt to give you a brief outline of transplanting trees. Dormancy, meaning deciduous trees have lost their leaves, is the best time to transplant. Evergreens are never really dormant, so early spring or fall (by the end of October to allow for root growth) are the best times as well for them.

The first step is to make sure the tree you have selected is adapted to the site you are wanting to plant in. Drainage, soil type, sun, and space are prime considerations. If you have a sump pump that discharges in a particular area, you don't want a tree there that doesn't like wet conditions. Also, make sure you have adequate room for the mature size of the tree you are planting. One of the most common landscaping mistakes is not allowing enough space. This includes height, since power lines and trees don't get along well together.

There are several different ways trees are sold. They can be bare root, potted in the field, container grown, balled and burlapped, or tree spade dug. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, and a lot of the reason a tree is sold a particular way is due to size. There are some general steps that do apply to all types of trees.

First, you dig a hole. The hole should be at least a foot wider than the size of the root system or container size. Of course, the direct tree spade planted trees won't have this step. Rough up the sides of the hole as well with a shovel, and make sure the top of the hole is at least as wide as the bottom. Don't dig the hole too deep, as filling the hole will then lead to planting too deep due to settling. Many balled and burlap trees are actually set with about a third of the ball above ground level after planting. Soil amendments are OK in small quantities, especially in heavy clay or sandy soils. Organic material and good topsoil are the best amendments. Peat moss can cause problems in clay soils, since it can attract water and make a wet hole for your tree.

Most trees done by homeowners are container grown. To plant these types of trees, you first remove the container at the planting site. If the roots are growing all around the container soil, loosen the roots by rubbing or make a few vertical cuts on the sides to cut the mass of roots and make two cuts on the bottom that form an "x." Plant at least two inches higher than the soil level to allow for settling.

Other types of trees have some slight variations at planting time, with bare root being the most different. Bare root plantings need to have air pockets tamped to begin with, the roots straightened and spread in the hole, then the tree needs to be gently raised and lowered as soil is added to work out air pockets.

After-planting care is very important. Usually five to seven gallons of water is needed each week. Do it once a week. Mulch with a three to six inch layer of mulch such as wood chips, and go out from the trunk for three to six feet. Keep the mulch away from direct contact with the trunk, and don't use plastic under the mulch as it can suffocate roots and hold in too much water. A little fertilizer is OK. Too much, especially in the fall, is bad. Lawn fertility rates are fine, and phosphorus and potassium can be added at any time.

Hopefully these tips will help you as you plant trees this fall. I'll cover winter preparation in a few weeks.