Is it the end of rewarding gardening in PA? Nope. My gardens entertain me well into November.
Fall, typically, is the season that I best love annuals. They just perform with flowers more and longer than my perennials. This year, I planted upwards of 50 containers with a mix of perennials, natives, vegetables and annuals. Right now, they seem to be awakening from a late summer nap and look great.
A few things have died back. My experiment of including veggies in most containers has proven successful in many cases. The kohlrabi worked really well as did the kale and beets I grew for foliage. I took some of the tomatoes and squashes out of my pots, just recently, and I’m ready for a change.
I want to perk my containers up a bit. But I really don’t want to replace everything or go splashy with bunches of mums. Why do annuals peter out a bit in late August?
My herbaceous plants instructor said other night in class, “Good annuals last all summer but many homeowners don’t.” She explained that we go on vacation or simply don’t want to venture out into the August muck. So we don’t water or feed our plants for days in peak heat and some turn crispy. There are some plants that are more heat tolerant than others, but as long as a plant thrives, it can continue to bloom.
Ornamental Kale. I like airy leaves rather than tight heads.
Many a modern annual fit that bill. A good trim and some good fertilization might resuscitate an ailing annual. I’m hoping after that treatment, some of my limping snapdragons – one of the more heat sensitive annuals – will snap to it and bloom before October.
Erica Shaffer, nursery manager of Highland Gardens agrees. “As far as cool season annuals, pretty neato to have sweet alyssum and snaps blooming after other warm season annuals have been bitten by Jack Frost. ”
“There are other annuals that could be used but the problem is you would have to start them from seed yourself.” She said fall is a great opportunity to refresh your gardens. “If we get a bunch of interesting cool season annuals, we have to have gardeners buying them.” Folks searching out something for fall are likely to be looking for colorful ornamental cabbages and kales, pansies and viola. I like the ornamental pepper.
Planting containers with natives is an excellent option. Goldenrod would be pretty right now. Judy Bono, The Gardener of the Owl Valley, will be giving a talk on planting containers with native plants at the MAEscapes native plant fall sale on Sept. 19th.
Yesterday, I got out some simple black pots and added ornamental red peppers for a pop of color in a seating area. I like the airy kale for inter-planting with pots that have lost a thing or two. If you can find snapdragons or wax begonias, they will perform for you for a while. Earlier in the summer, I added nasturtium seeds to some of my containers and I am hoping for blooms from them yet.
Goldenrod comes in different cultivars that are more compact and don't spread as quickly. It is a native plant that would be great to include in containers.
