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Old fallen leaves contain the disease inoculum for next year’s plant infections. If you have disease-infected plants, prune out infected branches in the late fall and winter when the disease-causing organism is inactive. Remove any infected debris from around the plant’s base and dispose of it.
• Looking to put some outstanding fall color into your landscape? Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) deserves the attention it attracts. It is a medium-sized shrub that spreads by rhizomes, ultimately forming a large stand if left unchecked. It is loaded with 2to 6-inch long racemes of fragrant white flowers in late spring lasting two to three weeks. Virginia Sweetspire prefers a moist, fertile soil, but is adaptable to full sun or part shade, has no major disease or insect problems, and is tolerant of low, wet sites. (Stop by the Rappahannock County Park Arboretum to see this shrub.)
• When selecting trees for fall color, keep in mind that color is more strongly influenced by genes in the plant than by the environment. Trees selected in the fall when they are in full color can e expected to produce the same colors in future years. Red Maple cultivars that display outstanding colors include ‘Red Sunset’, ‘October Glory, and ‘Autumn Flame’.
• Conifers that have poor color or weak growth may respond to fertilizer applied between mid-October and midMarch.
• While you can still identify them easily, prune dead and diseased branches from trees and shrubs.
• In deciding on new trees or shrubs to plant around your home, remember to select varieties with a nature height to fit the desired location. This will greatly reduce pruning and other maintenance in the future.
• Do not become alarmed if your yews, pines, arborvitae and junipers begin to shed their interior needles. It is natural for them to do this at this time of year.
• White pines are shedding their older needles now. Rake them up and use for mulch on azaleas, rhododendron and andromeda.
• In fall and early winter, water new trees and shrubs when diy to increase winter hardiness. Continue until the ground freezes.
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