Video: Fall Gardening Do’s and Don’ts

I don’t know about your weather, but fall is getting serious here in Spokane, Wash.! It got me to thinking about fall gardening and what I’ve learned you should or shouldn’t do right now.

I love this time year, especially because of the beautiful fall colors. And having the garden wind down is also nice because I’ve worked hard all season! This doesn’t mean that I won’t be doing projects outdoors, but it will be at a more relaxed pace.

Here are the topics within this video:

• Why you should “leave the leaves” for beneficial insects.
• Why you shouldn’t prune roses this time of year and the one exception to that rule.
• Why own-root (or non-grafted) roses are great, especially for cold climates like ours.
• Plant spring-blooming bulbs now. You can do this throughout the fall as long as it’s done BEFORE the ground freezes!
• Why you shouldn’t clean up everything in your flower beds.
• Special care for clay and ceramic pots.
• A tip that I’ll be planting garlic next year and bringing you along with me!
• Why fall is such a great time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials.
• Why I snip off the flower heads from my hydrangea ‘Vanilla Strawberry’. Also, the difference between hydrangeas that bloom on new wood vs. old wood.
• Why you shouldn’t prune raspberry and blackberry canes if the leaves are still green.
• The importance of keeping a garden journal.

Here is the video:

I hope you’ll find this video really helpful and stay tuned for next week’s garlic-planting video! If you’d like to watch videos on a wide range of gardening topics, here’s a direct link to my YouTube channel. And if you’d like watch my 2024 videos, here’s the index to that.