November the best time to plant spring bulbs

WEEK 1

Now is a fine time to plant tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs. For drainage, loosen the soil at least eight inches deep before planting. Soggy soil around bulbs leads to an early death.

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Now is a great time to plant spring bulbs.

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• 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.

Plant an apple tree! Good varieties include ‘Anna’, ‘Mollie’s Delicious’, ‘Mutsu’ and ‘Ginger Gold’. Details at http://xrl.us/APPLE

Drain your rain barrel, disconnect the filler tube and connect back to your gutter system. There is usually no need for extra water during winter.

Pick any remaining tomatoes before the first frost. If they have the faintest bit of red/orange on the blossom end, they have already started the ripening process.

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WEEK 2

Shape up rosebushes for winter. Shorten long branches, remove spent flowers, and prune out dead canes.

Fertilize fescue lawns with any brand of turf fertilizer. Repeat in February and April.

Damp soil makes it easy to move small shrubs and trees. Use a spading fork to discover and loosen the network of roots spreading out from the trunk. Pull the whole thing out without much soil.

Azalea, forsythia and quince are sensitive to fall drought stress. A few flower buds may open now, but the rest will keep tight until they display their colorful branches in March.

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WEEK 3

Avoid multiple leaf-shredding trips across a dormant bermudagrass lawn. Stems and leaves are readily broken; you’ll make easy-to-see paths in the lawn if you use the same pattern each time.

Dry flower heads on hydrangea shrubs can be removed now but avoid pruning any more than you have to. Otherwise you’ll diminish flowers for next summer.

Pecans are an excellent holiday gift for faraway friends. The Georgia Pecan Commission maintains a Web site listing local shippers at http://xrl.us/ORDERPECAN.

Control onions in your lawn by spot-spraying a broadleaf herbicide (Weed B Gon, etc) or imazaquin (Image for Nutgrass).

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WEEK 4

Cut back Confederate rose canes once they are completely brown. Mound pine straw closely around, but not over, the center of the plant to prevent cold damage.

Accelerate fescue seed sprouting in small bare patches by covering the spot with clear plastic. When you see green grass sprout under the plastic, take it away and hope for a mild winter.

Colorado blue spruce, Alberta spruce and Norway spruce do not prosper here. Spruce trees may live a few years in Atlanta but eventually humidity, heat and clay soil kill them.

Regularly remove matted piles of leaves from your lawn. Though the grass may be dormant, constant moisture will lead to crown rot and a dead patch next spring.