October the best time to plant shrubs, small trees

WEEK 1

Magnolia seeds can be planted now. Remove the fleshy red seed coat by soaking seed overnight. Plant the interior black seed in a sunny spot.

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Walter Reeves/Special

Magnolia seed can be collected and planted now. Or you can save the pods for holiday decorations.

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• Get more Home & Garden news
  

• Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on NewsTalk 750 WSB-AM from 6 to 10. Call 404-872-0750 to ask questions.
• His Web site, walterreeves.com, contains thousands of answers to lawn and landscape questions. Watch "Gardening in Georgia" each week on GPB. Details at gardeningingeorgia.com.

This is the best time to plant shrubs and small trees. Air temperatures are cooling but soil temperatures are still warm. Water deeply once, and then every two weeks in the absence of rain.

Don’t prune gardenias now. If you do, the resulting new growth will be harmed in January.

Plant Carolina jessamine, holly, fennel, abelia, Joe-pye weed and perennial salvia to attract pollinators to your garden next year. Better yet, join a beekeeping club at http://xrl.us/BEEKEEPERS.

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WEEK 2

Don’t worry about planting bulbs “wrong side up.” Their leaves and roots know which way to grow and blooming will not be harmed.

A vine makes a good covering for a privacy fence. Consider crossvine, evergreen clematis, Carolina jessamine and Confederate jasmine. All are evergreen, grow vigorously and have attractive blooms.

Put on your leather gloves and prune your raspberries and blackberries. Remove the numerous brown stems. They will not bear any more fruit.

Watering restrictions do not regulate recycled water from your bathtub or sink. You can easily collect enough to water new trees and shrubs. Details at www.georgiawaterrules.com.

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WEEK 3

‘Noble’ muscadines contain more antioxidants than blueberries. These grapes are delicious and healthy! Details on muscadine culture at http://xrl.us/MUSCADINE.

“Winterizer” fertilizer applied to bermudagrass, zoysiagrass or centipedegrass after this time is a waste of money. Lawn care timing details at http://xrl.us/LAWNCALENDAR.

Plant asparagus, radish, spinach and onion sets. Find a list of good Georgia gardening fact sheets at http://xrl.us/GARDENPUBS.

Bring patio plants indoors when night temperatures approach 50 degrees. Check each one carefully for insects and disease. Scissor off any brown spots.

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WEEK 4

Leyland cypress can be pruned moderately now to keep it in bounds. Be sure to leave some greenery below each pruning cut.

Incubating eggs in a classroom is not as hard as you might think. It’s a great learning experience for students, teachers and parents. More details at http://xrl.us/INCUBATE.

Protect tulip bulbs from squirrels. Cover the spot with 1-inch mesh chicken wire. Anchor the wire to the ground with a few 6-inch long, V-shaped wires cut from a coat hanger. Cover with mulch to hide the wire.

Don’t let pine straw go to waste. Collect it as you rake and put a two-inch layer under the branches of all shrubs and trees.