Collier's Garden Scoop
October 2021
October Hours
Monday through Saturday 9 to 5
Sunday 1 to 5
Cool weather has finally arrived and along with it the fall planting season! Mild sunny days make it pleasant to garden and lower temperatures help cool-season plants thrive. Read on to find out what's in store for autumn...Happy Fall, Y'all!
Festive Fall Trio
Combine these three autumn favorites for a cheerful arrangement or display, ripe with color and texture, to celebrate the season.

Croton: Large leaves in fiery hues create a vivid backdrop for mums and peppers. Can be grown as a houseplant in bright light. Overwinter indoors.
 
Chrysanthemum: Great selection in stock now in a variety of sizes- instant color for containers! Perennial when planted in the ground where they will bloom in spring and fall.
 
Ornamental Pepper: Grow outdoors in full, partial or filtered sun or indoors in bright light or a sunny window. Tiny peppers in fun colors add interest to arrangements.
It's Time to Plant
Pansies & Violas!
We will have our best selection of varieties and colors between now and Thanksgiving. Pansy and viola growth slows when temperatures drop, so plant as soon as possible while it's still warm and plants can put on size rapidly.

Both pansies and violas thrive in full or partial sun with moist, well-drained soil. If you have a spot that gets less than 3 hours of sun then violas are your best bet, as they bloom better in shadier spots.

Apply a time-released fertilizer when planting, such as fertilome Start-N-Grow or Osmocote. You can supplement every so often with a water-soluble bloom booster as well. Pinch off dead flowers occasionally to encourage more buds to develop.

Pansies provide abundant color in flowerbeds and containers when little else is blooming, and can be combined with a variety of winter-hardy foliage options.
Evergreen Companion Plants
Compliment pansies and violas with colorful foliage and interesting textures that will persist through winter. All of the following evergreen options are in stock now.
 
Ornamental Cabbage & Kale: Perhaps the most dramatic foliage accents for the cool-season garden. Large, showy leaves develop bright white and deep pink, purple or red tones as temperatures drop.
 
Coral Bells: Available in an array of lovely colors from green to shades of red, purple and bronze. While temps are cool these can be grown in shade to full sun. Coral bells are perennial and can be transplanted to the shade garden before next summer.
 
Dusty Miller: Soft silver foliage adds a unique color to cool-season plantings. Compliments lavender, blue and purple and contrasts nicely with yellow, orange and red.

Evergreen Ferns: Add coarse, handsome texture to containers and flowerbeds with autumn, holly or tassle ferns.

Evergreen Grass: The fine, wispy blades of sedge and sweet flag add gorgeous texture to cool-season plantings.

Evergreen Herbs: The aromatic and edible leaves of oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme are a lovely (deer-resistant!) addition to the fall, winter and early spring garden.

Ornamental Mustard & Swiss Chard: The deep wine reds and purples of mustard leaves, and bright stems of Swiss chard, provide vivid colors to pair with pansy and viola blooms.
Plant Now for Spring Blooms
A little extra digging now will pay off next spring: dianthus, foxglove and snapdragons perform best when planted in the fall. Give them all winter to establish strong root systems and you'll be rewarded with a floral dividend in a few months. All but foxglove will bloom late into fall and again next spring (foxglove blooms in spring only); all will go dormant but remain green during the coldest part of winter.

Dianthus and snapdragons are deer-resistant and are a good substitute for pansies and violas if deer are an issue in your garden.
Bulbs Have Arrived!
Plant in the ground after Thanksgiving or begin 'forcing' for the holidays soon. Paperwhites take 4 to 6 weeks to bloom, amaryllis take a little longer at 6 to 8 weeks. Tuck among pansies and violas (in containers or flowerbeds) for a lovely surprise early next spring. Our bulbs are pre-chilled; plant each bulb twice as deep as the bulb is tall. In stock: allium, daffodils, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, Dutch and miniature iris, spider lily, paperwhites and tulips (amaryllis are expected in the next week or so).
Fall Is For Planting
October through December is the best time to tackle landscaping projects. Planting (or transplanting) trees, shrubs, vines & groundcovers in the fall allows them time to grow strong root systems through the winter and spring and take advantage of more frequent rain. This means they will be well-established and more likely to survive once the heat of summer arrives next year.
October Lawn Care
Apply Hi-Yield Turf & Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper to Bermuda and Zoysia lawns in late October.
COLLIER'S NURSERY | 2904 OLD ROCKY RIDGE ROAD 35243 | 205-822-3133