Autumn

Don’t Let Dry Soil Follow Your Plants Into Winter!

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By Holly McNamara, UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab

This year, Connecticut’s notably dry summer conditions have continued into fall. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all counties are abnormally dry for this time of year, and some are even considered to be in a moderate drought. Thus, many trees, shrubs, and perennials are heading into winter low on moisture. These conditions combined with the dry air, low precipitation, and fluctuating temperatures characteristic of Connecticut winters can lead to plant damage if no supplemental water is provided. Many of your plants will benefit from a deep final soak before the ground freezes.

Fall drought stress often doesn’t show up until spring, or even the following summer.Affected plants may appear perfectly normal and resume growth in the spring, using stored food energy. Plants may be weakened or die in late spring or summer when temperatures rise. Browning evergreens, delayed leaf-out, and sudden dieback are common signs of plants that went into winter too dry.

Moist soil is so important in the fall and winter months because it provides insulation to the roots. It may seem counter-intuitive, but properly hydrated soil does a much better job at protecting roots from freezing temperatures than dry soil. Root damage occurs for this reason when plants do not receive enough late-season moisture.

Woody plants with shallow root systems require the most supplemental water during extended dry periods in the fall and winter. Trees in this category include maples, birches, willows, and dogwoods. This category also includes perennials, and shrubs like hydrangeas, boxwoods, and azaleas. These plants benefit from mulch to further conserve soil moisture and buffer the roots from temperature swings. Apply mulch about 2 to 4 inches away from the trunk all the way to the outermost reach of its branches in a doughnut shape.

Evergreen needles up close
Evergreens need sufficient water in dry falls to help prevent winter injury. Photo by Heather Zidack

Evergreens also benefit from fall and winter watering because they do not go dormant in the winter. Evergreens of any age are still actively respiring during the coldest months of the year and will continuously lose water through their needles. If they go into the winter with dry soil, they are more likely to have a difficult spring recovery. This is especially true for those in open or windy areas.

Only water when daytime temperatures are above 40°F, ideally in the late morning or early afternoon so the water can soak in before possible freezing at night. Feel the soil at a depth of 4 to 6 inches to ensure that supplemental water is necessary. Soil should be consistently moist, but not oversaturated or muddy. Stop supplemental watering after the ground freezes because plants cannot absorb water through frozen soil. To water, use a soaker hose to provide a slow stream of water that can penetrate deeper into the soil with limited runoff. If your hose is already stored away for the winter, and your tree or shrub is small, consider drilling a 1/8-inch hole at the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket and filling that with water for a slow, steady stream. If dry weather continues into the winter and there’s little snow cover, additional watering once or twice a month may be needed until the soil hardens.

A final round of watering now can prevent root injury that won’t be visible until much later. Evergreens, deciduous trees, and other landscape plantings will head into winter stronger with a little extra attention this month. Giving the soil one last watering before it freezes is one of the simplest ways to protect your landscape from winter stress.

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at extension.uconn.edu/locations.

This article was published in the Hartford Courant October 25, 2025

Why is My Lilac Blooming in the Fall?

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By Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Bumblebees on fall blooming lilacs
Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Spring-blooming woody plants like lilacs (especially the old, grafted varieties), ornamental cherries, forsythia, crabapples, azaleas and some magnolias set their flower buds for the following year in early summer shortly after flowering.  Usually, flower buds are triggered to bloom by environmental conditions which normally occur after an extended fall and winter cold period, followed by longer days and warming temperatures in spring. It is not typical for these plants to have a second bloom in the fall, but environmental conditions sometimes trigger premature flowering in the fall. Some plants may have only a few flowers rebloom, while other plants may have more flowers open in the fall.  

Some of the reasons for this out of season bloom are extended summer heat and drought conditions where supplemental water is lacking.  Severe early defoliation, especially from certain fungal pathogens, can also contribute to reblooming. The past two springs have been very wet and diseases such as anthracnose and Pseudocercospora spp. leaf spot may have caused leaves to brown, shrivel and drop early. This stresses the shrub and contributes to out of sync rebloom if other conditions are right. Good sanitation practices such as cleaning up infected leaves will be helpful in reducing fungal infections the following year. 

If a plant is healthy and relatively unstressed, the normal seasonal move to cooler weather triggers dormancy. Plants that are deciduous will drop leaves as daylight length and temperature both decrease. Next year’s leaf and flower buds will also remain in a dormant state. Flowering and leafing out will be triggered by increasing daylight and air temperatures the next spring. 

Lilac flowers opening in October
Photo by Pamm Cooper, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

If certain woody plants have been stressed during the growing season, however, the change to cooler weather followed by some warmer weather can trigger some of the flower buds to open prematurely. This false dormancy especially affects flower buds near the tops of old-style lilacs where it is sunnier and warmer. Ornamental cherries may show sporadic flowering all over the tree where there is a southern exposure.  

While fall reblooming of ornamental trees and shrubs can lead to a disappointing floral display the following spring, it is not harmful to the plant. After a less showy spring bloom period, flower buds will be produced normally. If stressful conditions caused by environmental conditions, insect pests or fungal pathogens are minimal, then a second bloom in autumn is unlikely to occur. Gardeners and landscapers can only do so much, and while the weather is out of our control, making sure plants are maintained properly to avoid stress during the summer will go a long way in helping them remain as healthy as possible.  

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at extension.uconn.edu/locations.

This article was published in the Hartford Courant October 18, 2025

We Asked Gardening Pros If You Should Rake Leaves From Garden Beds—And They All Agreed

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We Asked Gardening Pros If You Should Rake Leaves From Garden Beds—And They All Agreed

The Spruce – Heather Zidack and other professionals give their insight on raking leaves from your garden beds.

Fall Gardening and Preparing for Winter on CRIS Radio

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CRIS Radio: Focal Point 10/13/2025

Heather Zidack from the UConn Home & Garden Education Center talks to host, Stephen Thal, about the summer weather patterns, and how they have impacted our fall garden chores!

Transcript

00:00:01 Stephen Thal 

Hi, welcome to another segment on Focal Point. This is Stephen Thal, your host. And boy, we got another exciting program for our listeners. Today we're going to be talking about plants and gardens and how to take care of them, especially with the challenging weather- humid, hot. Oh, the plants must be having a tough time and garden things. What's happening? 

00:00:27 Stephen Thal 

Well, here to help us work this all out is Heather Zidack, and she's from the UConn Plant and Garden Education Center. Welcome, Heather. 

00:00:40 Heather Zidack 

Hi, Stephen. Thanks for having me. 

00:00:42 Stephen Thal 

Oh, it's always a pleasure. So what did the weather do to the plants this year? 

00:00:49 Heather Zidack 

So, this year was a wild year for our plants. It was a wild year for us too. Some of the weather that we noticed was quite crazy. But in particular, we had a very hot, very humid summer that led us to see a lot of fungal diseases. We got a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails, a lot of samples into our diagnostic lab that had a lot of diseases in the garden. So that was something that we saw. We actually have also been getting reports right now. People are asking us why are their lilacs blooming? And it's because of the stress that we've had this season. 

00:01:28 Heather Zidack 

So with that heat, that humidity, we've also had some really dry stretches that have kept us kind of right on the border of a drought. We're not quite there yet, but we are in abnormally dry conditions. So when plants are stressed, sometimes they do some really strange things and so people have been seeing their lilacs blooming in the fall when that's normally a spring blooming plant. It's not something that's normal, but it's definitely it's an environmental thing and it's not going to be like detrimental to the lilacs if you are seeing that. So it's it's worth noting, but it's not necessarily need for alarm. 

00:02:06 Heather Zidack 

We had earlier in the summer, we had the wildfires and smoke from that may have affected some of your plants. Because believe it or not, the air quality can affect your plants in the garden. And so that could have led to some ozone damage, which we see is like curling in the leaves. It can look like distortion in the leaves. So some weird things with that. 

00:02:29 Heather Zidack 

And then the other thing is that we saw temperatures whenever we went over 85 degrees, usually our common vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, things like that will actually kind of put a pause on. And so, they will not ripen or they may not fruit as heavily. So, we got some calls in saying, “Hey, why have my tomatoes been green for so long?” And it was probably because of the weather. 

00:02:56 Heather Zidack 

So a lot of things happening, the swings in moisture, so we'd have some really warm days, some really dry weather, and then we'd get kind of a deluge of rain. That kind of also stressed the plants out as well. 

00:03:12 Heather Zidack 

So we are advising right now to water your plants, especially your evergreens going into the fall. If we're not seeing an inch of rain forecasted, you want to make sure you're out there watering during any of your new plantings, any of your evergreens, anything like that. 

00:03:31 Heather Zidack 

The drought that we had last fall, so fall of 2024, actually caused a lot of losses in the garden for evergreens, rhododendrons, things like that in 2025 when we were coming into the spring and plants were starting to wake up. So, watering now is going to save you a headache in the spring for sure and if you've had anything like if you have had experience with like fungal disease in your garden this year we're recommending cut all of that tissue back let those leaves drop rake them up and dispose of them don't come compost it because you don't want to put it back into your garden so a lot of different weather patterns have caused the gardeners to have a little extra work this fall I think. 

00:04:14 Stephen Thal 

Okay so where do we go from here with the weather are we going to be bringing some plants into the house? And and we'll also be checking on the plants that have been in the house that may need some help for the fall. 

00:04:32 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, so it's definitely that time of year we recommend bringing in your plants when nighttime temperatures are 50 degrees or lower. And so, we've kind of been doing okay with that weather-wise but we are starting to get into that time where it's consistent and we're seeing that below 50 degrees. 

So, a lot of things if you keep, you know, palms outside or if you keep any citrus trees or anything outside, they need to be in if they're not already. So, some species can be a little more sensitive, so they may have needed to come in already, like even before that 50 degree mark, but that's our rule of thumb. 

00:05:13 Heather Zidack 

When you start to bring them inside, definitely look them over really well, feel them over really well, make sure that the leaves are smooth, everything is healthy, you're not feeling any kind of like insects or any sticky leaves or anything like that. If you are, it is time to kind of have a little bit of a closer look, have checked out for bugs, make sure that you're not bringing anything into your house that you don't want staying there for the winter with your plants. You know, check the undersides of the leaves, check through the soil a little bit, and identify and treat any of those issues before they come into the house. 

00:05:51 Heather Zidack 

So, we do help homeowners if you have pictures, you can send us pictures and we can take a look to see if any of those plant related insects are anything that you need to do anything about before it comes inside. 

00:06:07 Heather Zidack 

You want to give your plants a chance to transition from inside to outside. So if 50 degree nights is what they're-the goal is and we've been letting the weather come down to that 50 degrees and then you're bringing it into your 68 degree house, that's an 18 degree temperature difference. So they may show signs of stress. 

00:06:29 Heather Zidack 

They may kind of not be used to the amount of moisture in the air in your home as compared to what was outside, especially as it starts to get a little colder and we start kicking on the furnace and the air is drier inside the home. 

00:06:43 Heather Zidack 

So keep an eye on your plants, monitor them. Those stress responses may happen, but don't-go ahead and-don't overreact to it. So if you see them drying out, if you see them wilting a little bit, don't change your practices too much. Continue to water as you've always watered. Continue to take all the care that you always have to make sure that they're not drying out, but you're not over watering either. 

00:07:12 Heather Zidack 

We see a lot of people that will over love their plants and over water them. So you end up kind of seeing things come inside, the wilt, we’ll panic and then we'll put a ton of water on it, which then sends it to swing the other way into that over watering and root rot and things like that. 

00:07:30 Heather Zidack 

So just keep doing what you're doing, but keep an eye on what's happening to make sure that you can respond if there is an issue. 

00:07:39 Stephen Thal 

Okay. And that also goes for the local gardeners too. They probably experience a lot of people requesting help during the summer and now how to make best use of their garden. 

00:07:54 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, yeah. And we're going to start seeing now with, you know, again, weather related, we're going to start seeing frosts. Some parts of the state may have seen them already. 

If you have anything like mums or pumpkins outside, those are things that you may want to protect from those frosts. 

What happens is that when the dew falls at night and it crystallizes into frost on your plant material, it can actually damage the tissue and that causes your pumpkins to rot faster. It causes a lot of tender flower petals to not look so good. 

00:08:31 Heather Zidack 

So, what we recommend is to either bring them inside if you just have one mum on the front step, that's easy to bring in and just leave in the kitchen overnight. 

00:08:40 Heather Zidack 

But if you have a larger grouping of plants or if you have some, you know, some cole crop vegetables or something like that that you may want to protect, you can use something as simple as a bed sheet or a towel even. 

Never use a plastic tarp or anything to cover plants because that will just exacerbate the cold against the plant tissue, but definitely do find a way to cover them if frost is coming or bring them inside. 

00:09:12 Stephen Thal 

What kind of covers can you use? 

00:09:14 Heather Zidack 

So, anything that is fabric based is going to work really well. They do sell specific like frost covers, but you don't have to go that far. 

If you have an old sheet, if you have towels, a pillowcase even, kind of depends on your plant size, but a lot of those just to keep that frost from falling onto and making contact with the plant tissue. 

00:09:37 Stephen Thal 

Okay so now we got to get in and roll up our sleeves and begin the work to preparing the plants as Heather has been saying earlier because of the weather and now she's trying to talk a little bit more specifically about plants that come in the house to make sure they don't have some sort of a disease, which will impact the plants that are in the house as well. 

Now, is this the time too, because of the changing of the sunsets and amount of light coming in, you have to move your plants inside the house to different positions in the house. 

00:10:21 Heather Zidack 

So not necessarily different positions. Plants that we have indoors go through yearly cycles just like the ones outdoors. And so some of them may be able to tolerate that change in light as they adjust because it happens slowly. Always check your plant label to make sure if it needs like a full sun or indirect sun. 

You know, we've talked about before those differences are kind of like if you think about a cat in the living room, right? So, if it needs bright indirect light, maybe the cat is somewhere that the light is not shining through the window but it's right next door versus if it needs bright direct light, the cat is sitting right in the window and if it needs shade, it's over by the couch and you don't see it necessarily. 

So, if you always kind of think about in that way, you can remember where your plants need to be in terms of their labeling, which is important to follow. 

00:11:14 Heather Zidack 

But they do adapt a little bit over time when they're indoors, which is why we need to help them adapt when they go outside. 

So if you keep them in a place that is draft free, bright enough for whatever their requirement is, and away from any of the heat sources, so away from any radiators, vents, anything like that that can dry them out, keep them away from like being too close to wood stoves obviously, and that will help them to not be too dry so they don't lose water as quickly. But the other thing too is that like I said, they go through those yearly cycles, so they will go dormant just like the outdoor plants. 

00:11:58 Heather Zidack 

Cooler temperatures, changes in light, changes in water can trigger dormancy, but it is species dependent and so with our houseplants because we keep them in a steady environment as possible, some years they'll go into dormancy, some years they won't. 

And so it's just kind of knowing what plant you have and whether to expect that or not. That can be really helpful. The other quick tip with houseplants that I like to remind everybody is that we allow the soil to dry in between waterings. 

00:12:32 Heather Zidack 

So don't keep your soil wet when your plants are indoors. Let it dry out as much as you can in between to help prevent fungus gnats. Those are those little black flies that seem to get everywhere. 

Again, follow what your plant needs for watering, but if you can stretch it and let it dry out a little bit, you're going to help reduce that issue. 

00:12:54 Stephen Thal 

Oh, that's great. Is this also a time to take a look at repotting any of the soils or any of the plants that we're bringing in or the house plants that have already been there. 

00:13:07 Heather Zidack 

You certainly can. 

00:13:09 Heather Zidack 

People like to repot either in the fall or in the spring. Usually when you repot in the fall, it can be good if you've had them outside and you're worried about any critters that may come in with them in the soil. It's a good time to do it. 

You can do it in the spring if they've put on a lot of growth over the winter while they've been indoors.  

So it all matters on checking the plant in the pot to see if there's any presence of any kind of insect or anything. 

00:13:40 Heather Zidack 

You're definitely going to want to change out your soil. But also if the plant is, those roots are a little too tight in the pot, it starts to get root-bound, that's more your sign of whether to do it or not. It doesn't have to be on a time frame per se. 

00:13:56 Stephen Thal 

Okay, this is Stephen Thal with another segment on Focal Point, and we're interviewing Heather Zidack from the University of Connecticut Plant and Garden Center up in Storrs, Connecticut. 

00:14:08 Stephen Thal 

And she'll give us some phone numbers that we can call regarding if you need some help with your plants or the garden that you've been doing. 

Heather, you got some phone numbers we can use? 

00:14:24 Heather Zidack 

Absolutely. 

So, if you have questions about anything in the garden, anything plant related, your house plants, anything that you have that you you keep for plant material, we can help at the Home Garden Education Center. 

That number is 877-486-6271. Again, that's 877-486-6271 or you can always e-mail us at ladybug@uconn.edu. Again, that's ladybug@uconn.edu. 

00:15:03 Heather Zidack 

We look at pictures to help with diagnosis, so sometimes a picture says a thousand words. Also, I can give you the phone number too. It's a great time of year to be doing soil testing. 

So, the Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab, their number is 860-486-4274. Again, that's 860-486-4274. 

00:15:26 Heather Zidack 

So, between the services in the Home Garden Education Center, we work with our plant diagnostic lab and then the soil lab. We have pretty much everything that the home gardener or plant enthusiast needs to make sure that they're keeping their plants healthy. 

00:15:45 Stephen Thal 

That's good. 

00:15:45 Stephen Thal 

What about fertilizers? 

When does that come into play? 

00:15:50 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, that's a good question. So at this point, we should not be fertilizing anything. There are some exceptions for like lawn care and things like that, but my colleague is much more versed in that. 

00:16:05 Heather Zidack 

In general, it is too cold to fertilize anything right now because what's going to happen is if you were to put down any plant food,you would be pushing growth and any growth that's new on plants is very tender and very small and very susceptible to damage. 

So, it'll push out new growth and then it would freeze and cause damage and not do so well for your plant. So, we don't recommend fertilizing at this point in the year. 

The next time that you would be able to or you should would be for the springtime, once the soil temperatures start to climb up again and it starts to warm up. 

00:16:46 Heather Zidack 

If you have houseplants, you can fertilize. 

00:16:50 Heather Zidack 

However, some of them only need it once a year. It really depends on the species of houseplant you have. 

And so again, like I talked about over loving our plants with watering, sometimes we can over love our plants with fertilizer and, you know, overfeed them. And so sometimes we don't want to do that. So it's something to be aware of. 

Usually, as long as the plant is in active growth, you're able to fertilize. And so since we're kind of in that time of year where things are winding down and going to bed for the season, we just don't do it. But it all depends on what you're growing and what you have to keep an eye on. 

00:17:30 Stephen Thal 

Okay, what are some of the other things that we need to take care of in the fall? 

We did mention, we talked a little bit about fertilizer. 

We talked about bringing plants into the house. Making sure they're not bringing some critters in. 

00:17:43 Stephen Thal 

What about the compost pile? Is that something that we do all year round or just certain times of the year? 

00:17:50 Heather Zidack 

Yeah, composting is year round. So you want to make sure that you're continuously turning your compost pile. There's a couple different kinds. 

So there's hot composting where you keep your compost pile at 140 degrees by turning it throughout the year. 

There's also cold composting, which is what I'm a little better at, where you kind of throw it together, turn it when you can, but it takes longer and it may not necessarily take out all of the pathogens and weed seeds in the same way that hot composting will. So you have to be really careful with your compost at that point. 

00:18:25 Heather Zidack 

Which is a good thing to keep in mind because right now, we advise people who are doing their garden cleanup for the season. 

There's a lot of controversy between that going for do I clean up in the fall or do I clean up in the spring? And so, what I tell people with that is to maintain what I call goal-oriented gardening. So, if your garden is all about pollinators and wildlife support and native plants and all of that. Definitely clean up in the spring. Don't cut back your perennials right now. You can leave your leaves a little bit. That leaves habitat options like hollow stems, leaf litter, and all of that for overwintering insects. And it leaves seed heads for birds to feed on as well as for winter interest. 

00:19:16 Heather Zidack 

However, if you have had a lot of disease this year and we talked about like with all the weather conditions, we saw fungal disease, people had, you know, if you had insects in your garden this year or things like that that you needed to manage, then one of the best things that you can do is clean up your garden in the fall. 

00:19:37 Heather Zidack 

And it goes against that instinct to leave the leaves and leave that pollinator habitat, however, it does help us to reduce our need for chemicals and other products in the spring and the following season because you're taking out anything that's potentially infected and just disposing of it right now instead of letting it overwinter and come back in the next season. So, if you've had disease in the garden and your goal is to have to try to not have that happen again next year. 

You want to clean up all your leaf litter, you want to pull up all your sick plants, dispose of everything in the garbage, don't compost it. You know that you are removing some of those habitat opportunities for the pollinators, but you're keeping your plants healthy for them to come back to and find next season. So it's kind of a toss up between the two. 

00:20:31 Heather Zidack 

And so I always encourage gardeners to really look at their own personal goals in their garden and see what they're willing to work with. If they really want that pollinator habitat to clean up in the spring, go for it. If they want to manage the disease, then fall may be the better time. And the other thing to keep in mind that I encourage people is to think about their own time. 

00:20:56 Heather Zidack 

So your time is valuable when it comes to garden cleanup. And make sure you're doing what you have time for when you have the time. So I've explained this and I've talked to other gardeners about this and I am a big football fan and so on Sundays, I am watching football instead of being out in my garden, believe it or not.  

And so sometimes for me, cleaning in the spring allows me to have that extra hobby and so it's kind of looking at my time and my priorities and really making sure that my garden is fitting that. 

00:21:31 Heather Zidack 

Because at the end of the day, we all do gardening as something we enjoy, and we want to make sure that we continue to get out there to enjoy it. 

00:21:40 Stephen Thal 

Okay, are there any other major things that we need to cover at this point, Heather? 

00:21:46 Heather Zidack 

One of the things that I definitely encourage people, like right now, if you're out in the garden, make sure that you're digging up any of your bulbs. It's the bulb time of year. 

So when I say dig up bulbs, I mean all of your elephant ears, your canna lilies, your gladiolus, any of those annual bulbs should be dug up, put into paper bags for storage. If you're growing them in containers, you can just cut them back and put the container in the garage or the basement to make sure that it will stay cool, but it won't freeze. 

On the other side of that, you want to start planting your spring blooming bulbs right now, you want to plant your garlic in late October, early November, you want to remove your vegetable plants that have those signs of disease, and don't compost again like I had mentioned. 

00:22:39 Heather Zidack 

The other thing that you want to do is you want to try to cover your soil in any of your garden beds. So a lot of the perennial garden beds that you have and a lot of your foundation plantings and things like that may already have mulch around them, so it might not be as important. 

But for your vegetable gardens and things that you're turning over every year, it's important to make sure that that soil is covered for the winter. Some gardeners were able to put in some cover crops by now and have something to hold the soil, like plant material-wise, that they'll be able to turn in. However, at this point in the season, we recommend just using something like straw, leaf mulch. You can chop up your leaves and put them out onto the garden as long as they were disease free. 

00:23:29 Heather Zidack 

And what that does is when you break up your leaves and you chop them up first, it allows them to break down faster so that there's less cleanup for you in the spring instead of having like if you've ever seen outside the dense thick leaf patches that we tend to have in the spring where leaves have collected. You want to make sure that they're chopped up, they're fine and that they're able to be turned into the soil at the end of the season. 

When you do, if you do have anything that you're turning in, so if you're going to do the leaves this fall and turn things in in the spring, it needs to be about three weeks before you're planting in the springtime. So, keep that in mind. 

00:24:11 Heather Zidack 

Make sure that you are cutting back any of your perennials, if fall cleanup is your goal, this is the time to do it. You want to cut back and leave one third of the perennials above the ground. 

So, say you have a six inch perennial, you want to cut it back to a two inch stub and that's where you'll leave it for the fall if you decide to clean up now. 

00:24:35 Heather Zidack 

If conditions continue to stay dry like they have been, keep watering all of your trees, your shrubs, your perennials, especially your new plantings until the ground freezes. So we've still got a little bit of time that we should be watering with supplemental water. 

We recommend one inch of water a week, which actually ends up being about, I think it's like 0.62 gallons per square foot. So that can help you kind of figure out how much water you need in a week for your plants. 

00:25:07 Heather Zidack 

And you want to wait till all your shrubs are dormant so their leaves have dropped before pruning in the fall. Do not prune any of your spring blooming shrubs. 

So, you don't want to prune your hydrangeas. You don't want to prune your forsythia, your lilacs, anything like that because things likely already set their buds for next year already. So, if you prune them now, you could lose your flowers. 

00:25:34 Heather Zidack 

The other thing that we recommend is, like I said, you don't want to fertilize anymore at this point. You know, consider getting your soil tested now so that you can have those results in the spring and be able to hit the ground running. 

00:25:48 Heather Zidack 

And again, like I said, our office is open year-round to help support with any of these home garden houseplant questions that you may have. 

00:25:59 Stephen Thal 

And also you have a number of local gardeners, don't you, or grangers? 

00:26:05 Heather Zidack 

We do. We have county offices that will help with garden questions as well through our master gardener colleagues will help with identification and things like that. If it's disease questions, definitely send it to the Home Garden Education Center. 

00:26:23 Heather Zidack 

But the master gardeners at the county offices are also very well equipped to help with cultural questions, how to take care of plants, how to identify them, and some of these fall and spring cleanup tips as well. 

00:26:36 Stephen Thal 

Do you have many fruit plants that need to be taken care of, or are they all pretty much gone? 

00:26:43 Heather Zidack 

They're pretty well done the only one to keep in mind is your fall blooming raspberries or your fall fruiting raspberries those you want to prune after fruiting is complete otherwise you're going to be all set um mostly in the winter when things are totally dormant so we're looking at like March would be the time to start pruning your fruit trees. 

00:27:04 Stephen Thal 

Oh okay one other thing I forgot to ask you you also have to take clean your tools that you use the garden with. 

00:27:12 Heather Zidack 

Absolutely. That's a great winter chore. Clean your tools, especially if you're between pruning diseased plants. 

The other thing is in the winter, it's great to not only clean your tools, but if you need to sharpen your tools or it's a good time also to make sure that you repaint all the handles so you can find them again when you have them in the garden. 

00:27:34 Stephen Thal 

Hey, Heather's going to give us the phone number one more time in case you missed it the first time. 

00:27:40 Heather Zidack 

Yes. So if you have any plant or garden questions, you can always call our office at 877-486-6271. Again, that's 877-486-6271. 

00:27:55 Stephen Thal 

That'll be great. 

Well, thank you again for coming again to help our gardeners or people that have interested in starting gardens or plants or whatever. Great information. 

Give my best to your whole team and I know when it comes around Christmas there's a lot of plants there that have to be protected once the season goes by. 

00:28:20 Heather Zidack 

Yes, yeah there's a lot of holiday plants that we could certainly talk about. 

00:28:26 Stephen Thal 

Okay well thank you again and wishing you and the whole team at UConn Plant and Garden Center continued success. 

00:28:33 Heather Zidack 

Thank you so much. 

00:28:35 Stephen Thal 

Stephen Thal with another segment on Focal Point. 

I want to thank all of you for listening. 

And a couple of things we want to remind you of is first, make sure that you wear a hat and dark glasses to protect your eyes against the sun all year around, particularly during the winter, particularly if we get snow, be a lot of glare. 

00:28:59 Stephen Thal 

The other item I wanted to mention is to make sure that you have an emergency plan and practice it. If you need any help with it, call your local fire department or police department and they can direct you to the proper resources to help you build one of these plans because someday that life may be somebody in your family that you save. 

00:29:23 Stephen Thal 

And also when you travel, make sure you know what the emergency rules are so that should you get into a situation, you know what to do. 

00:29:33 Stephen Thal 

So once again, thank you all for listening. 

Stay safe and stay healthy. 

 

Extend Your Fall Color with More than Mums!

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By Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

A garden bed with mums cabbage and millet
Photo by H. Zidack

By September, many of our ornamental garden beds and containers are ready for a refresh. Fall annuals help us bring color and vibrancy back into the garden while we still can enjoy the outdoors. The classic go-to for many gardens is the traditional chrysanthemum. These rotund, uniform little plants come in many different colors, various flower shapes, and a wide range of blooming periods from the end of August until the end of October. For extended color, it is often recommended to plant a mix of early, mid, and late season mums to ensure that color will last throughout the autumn. Alternatively, gardeners can mix mums with other types of annuals and perennials to extend their season of color and build a textured, multi-dimensional garden display. 

A unique challenge with fall annuals is that they do not grow as vigorously as spring and summer annuals. In terms of size, oftentimes the plant you purchase is the plant you will see in your garden for the remainder of the season. It is important to purchase your plants with this in mind. Fill your space densely and don’t hold as much space for plants to “grow into.” 

Large, full ornamental grasses like Pennisetum ‘Rubrum,’ Pennisetum ‘First Knight,’ or varieties of Millet will take up a lot of space and add height and an airy texture to your annual display.   If working in a container, add these giants to the middle of your planters and work your way outwards with other annuals.  

Yellow flowers with brown centers surrounded by ornamental grasses in a display
Rudbeckia Hirta 'Denver Daisy' in an autumn display. Photo by H. Zidack

Varieties of Rudbeckia hirta, like the ‘Toto’ series can take up a large space and have an open habit and less uniformity when compared to the traditional mum. Echibeckia (Rudbeckia x Echinacea hybrids) also do a great job of filling the space. Autumn is their time to shine and shine they do! Some of them may be hardy to Zone 6 but always check the variety and plant label to know if they have a chance of survival.  

We’re always looking to get more for our money. Don’t let your fall garden spruce up be any different this season!  Garden perennials that are currently in bloom, like Rudbeckia, Sedum, or Asters can be purchased and planted in containers for fall display. When they start to wind down, re-plant them somewhere in the garden before the ground freezes for a chance of coming back next season. Who doesn’t love a multi-purpose purchase? 

Many of us think of pansies and violets as spring flowers. However, they are gaining more traction in the world of ornamental horticulture as an autumn accent plant. These tiny flowers are already adapted to warm days and cool nights, and come in a wide range of colors for every gardener to enjoy. If you’re lucky, they’ll drop seeds and pop back up again in the springtime!  

Annuals like Nemesia and Snapdragons are well adapted to our autumn temperatures and will produce flowers well into the autumn season, though may need frost protection to keep flowers beautiful.  

One of the risks we take with flowering annuals in the autumn is the risk of frost damaging flowers before their time. When frosts are expected, it is important to cover plants to preserve flowers. If you find this is a lot of work, let me introduce you to ornamental kale and cabbage. A symbol of a bountiful harvest, these plants naturally lend themselves to an autumn display and can last far beyond their flowering counterparts. In fact, the colder they get, the more vibrant their foliage becomes!  

A wheelbarrow full of flowers and pumpkins
Photo by H. Zidack

Again, using perennials in fall displays, lends itself to solving this problem. As hardy plants, they are able to adapt to cooler nights and light frosts. This works well with foliage plants like Heuchera, or hardy ferns, that do not need additional frost protection to survive.  

To add the finishing touches to your display, consider adding pumpkins, hay bales, or even a home-made scarecrow! Your fall garden will be the envy of the neighborhood! 

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

This article was published in the Hartford Courant September 27, 2025

Fall is a Great Time to Lime and Fertilize Lawns

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

With the end of summer drawing near and hopefully bringing cooler temperatures and needed precipitation, now is a great time to attend to your lawn. While some of us are reducing the size of our lawns and adding native plants, in many cases lawns still serve a valuable purpose for practical uses, recreation and to set off plantings. Traditional cool season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, fescues and rye grasses require a higher pH and more fertility than our native soils provide. Right now is the perfect time to add limestone and fertilizer, if needed. Improved soil conditions will assist lawns recovering from the heat and drought stresses of summer. Also, the cooler fall temperatures allow turfgrasses to resume active growth.

Having your soil tested before purchasing limestone and fertilizer is always a wise move. Check out the UConn Soil Testing Lab’s website or give them a call at (860) 486-4274. Many of our soils tend to be acidic with a pH of 5 or so. You might remember that the pH scales ranges from 1 to 14 with 7 being neutral and values below that acidic and above that alkaline. Cool season turf grasses prefer a soil pH in the mid 6’s. When the soil pH is too low, it reduces the amounts of nutrients that are available to turf grasses even if fertilizer has been applied, increases the solubility of toxic elements like aluminum and can cause a decrease in good root formation, contribute to thatch accumulation and affect soil microbes.

Fortunately adjusting your soil’s pH is relatively easy and affordable. Limestone can be purchased either as a ground white powder or in earth tone pelletized forms. There are two main types. Calcitic limestone consists predominantly of calcium carbonates while dolomitic limestone contains both calcium and magnesium carbonates. Usually, dolomitic limestone is more commonly found as it is mined locally and it is fine to use as magnesium is an essential nutrient.

A person pushing a spreader
Photo by dmp2024

Typically, limestone is applied at rates of 50 pounds per 1000 square feet. If the soil pH needs to be raised significantly, additional limestone can be applied either spring/fall or at 30-day intervals. Once your soil pH reaches the mid 6’s, a maintenance application of 50 pounds/1000 square feet every other year should suffice. Do keep in mind that limestone does take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to change the pH depending on environmental conditions. While some more costly products are advertised as ‘Fast Acting Lime’, studies comparing them to traditional ground or pelletized limestone are inconsistent. If using these products, just follow the instructions on the package.

Choosing a fertilizer is often a confusing task considering the vast selection available. All plants need at least 18 different elements to grow. The 3 that are most often deficient in our soils and components of most fertilizers are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). So, the 3 numbers found on a bag or box of fertilizer, like 10-10-10 or 27-4-6 represent the percent of total nitrogen, available phosphate, and water-soluble potassium, respectively. For instance, a ten-pound box of 10-10-10 contains 10 percent or 1 pound of total nitrogen, and another 10 percent or 1 pound each of available phosphate and water-soluble potassium.

A law passed in 2013, limits the amount of phosphorus that can be applied to established lawns because it is the number one inland freshwater pollutant. Lawn maintenance fertilizers sold in Connecticut will typically have analyses like 30-0-4, 29-0-5 or 10-0-6. While phosphorus applications are prohibited on established lawns, fertilizers with phosphorus can be used when seeding, sodding or overseeding.

Fertilizers are also grouped as either those containing water-soluble nitrogen (WS) of water insoluble nitrogen (WIN). Look for a fertilizer that contains both. That way some nitrogen will be immediately available to your lawn and some will be released slowly over time. Fertilizers containing solely soluble N will produce rapid results but can easily burn if over applied and since some forms of nitrogen are readily leached from the surface soil, more frequent fertilizer applications may be necessary. No more than 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet should be applied at one time. If grass clippings are left in place then only 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of turf area will be needed each year. The best times to fertilize lawns are in September and in late April through the end of May. Avoid using too much nitrogen as it can lead to increased susceptibility to diseases and lower resistance to stress. If in doubt as to how much lime and fertilizer to apply, consider having your soil tested.

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website or reach out to your local UConn Extension center.

This article was published in the Hartford Courant September 20, 2025

Plectosporium – Not as Spooky As it Sounds!

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By Emily Leahy, UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab

White blister like spots on an orange pumpkin
Raised white lesions, indicative of Plectosporium blight, on a pumpkin. William Nesmith, University of Kentucky.

A chill in the air, football playing on the TV, and a certain kind of latte in your hand – there is only one season which encapsulates all three. Autumn is at our doorstep, bringing with it vibrant colors to paint the trees and an abundant harvest to use in all the season’s culinary endeavors. Many of the crops most representative of fall are cucurbits – the most relevant of which being various varieties of squash and pumpkins. Although the season is associated with comfort, danger lurks for these plants in the form of a fungal disease – Plectosporium blight.  

As the disease name suggests, the fungal pathogen Plectosporium tabacinum is responsible for its occurrence. Following a typical cycle of disease in infected hosts, fungal reproductive structures overwinter on crop residue. The pathogen even has the ability to dwell in soil for up to three years, much overstaying its welcome. As the growing season progresses, fungal spores will enter hosts through natural openings like cuticles and stomata. Plectosporium tabacinum prefers a cool and rainy environment, as windy and wet weather can assist in the spread of fungal spores and therefore the disease itself.  

White lesions on a pumpkin stem
Squash host exhibiting tissue desiccation in late stages of infection. Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org

Plectosporium blight has a few key symptoms which are easy to spot. White or cream-colored patches of various sizes will be present on stem tissue and can also spread to leaf petioles – the stalk which connects the leaf to its stem or branch. In severe cases of infection with Plectosporium tabacinum, hosts can become entirely defoliated as these lesions deplete petioles of their strength. Raised circular lesions in colors including white, tan, and gray, will appear on the body of the fruit and possibly leaves. As the disease progresses, infected tissue will become increasingly brittle and dry, forming tan abrasions that detract from the plant’s vigor.  

Up close image of white spots
Symptom of Plectosporium tabacinum – white pathces on a squash stem. Virginia Tech Learning Resources Center , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Bugwood.org

Fear not – all hope is not lost for the unofficial mascots of autumn. There are management strategies readily available to deter Plectosporium tabacinum. Due to the pathogen’s ability to dwell in plant residue and soil for long periods of time, crop rotations are beneficial to position potential hosts away from areas where the disease was observed in the past. In addition, assuring that plants have ample space between each other and therefore promoting air circulation. This leaves fungal pathogens without a suitable place to dwell, reducing infection of plants in the area. Control can also be achieved by fungicides, including Chlorothalonil and strobilurin based compounds. Always read the label in full before using any chemical product on your plants. 

The number of management strategies available for Plectosporium blight is a comforting indicator that this disease is easily controlled. As you are outside admiring the fall foliage and enjoying a reprieve from the harsh heat of summer, peruse your fall cucurbit harvest for the aforementioned symptoms. Stay curious and enjoy the dynamics of the season – it'll slip away in the blink of an eye!  

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

This article was published in the Hartford Courant September 13, 2025

Why Bees and Wasps Really Crash Your Late Summer Picnic!

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By Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Did you notice a few unwelcome guests trying to steal a sip from your soda can at your Labor Day picnics last weekend? In late August/Early September, bees and wasps are highly visible, more persistent, and at their peak populations in social hives. We get a lot of calls this time of year asking what can be done to remove them from shared spaces. 

A yellowjacket flying low to the ground
A Yellowjacket. Photo by Heather Zidack, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Thousands of described species are spread across 7 taxonomic families, worldwide. Eusocial species, like honeybees and paper wasps, have complex social structures that contribute to the overall survival of the hive. Meanwhile, a large majority of species are solitary and may live close to similar species but don't work together when it comes to provisioning resources or defending a territory. Diets range from carnivorous to herbivorous. However, most of them have developed a relationship with flowering plants in some capacity. Some are specialists, needing specific flowers for various resources, while others are generalists. Flowers have co-evolved with these insects so that they may benefit from the relationship via pollen distribution. Only those that help to move pollen are considered pollinators, though many may feed on floral resources. Entomologists dedicate their entire careers to understanding these insects and their complex relationships with the larger world. 

So why do they bother us around Labor Day but not so much during other summer picnics? A lot of it has to do with life cycles. By August, a hive has had a significant amount of time to establish. In spring, a queen will start a nest the size of a quarter. They aren’t on our mind so we’re not on the lookout. By now, some of those social nests can be the size of a basketball, or larger, with thousands of insects working for the good of the hive. At the same time, we're in the season when bees and wasps are on the lookout for sweet, sugary energy sources as their natural floral resources start to become scarce with the change of the seasons. Some become more protective of territory, trying to protect local resources and inadvertently mistake your sodas, fruit, and sweet picnic goodies as their next opportunity. Keeping drinks and food covered at picnics at this time of year is highly recommended to avoid attracting bees and wasps. If you grow fruit trees or berries, clean up any dropped fruit that could also attract these sugar fiends.  

In general terms, the easiest management strategy is to avoid the area, if possible. Hives built in low traffic areas can plausibly be left for the season, since workers will die out with colder weather. The only one to overwinter is the queen, and she will usually overwinter in leaf litter or plant material at ground level. In addition, wasps are not going to re-use their hives. The new queen will start fresh with her own nest, and her own colony come springtime. Next spring would be the time to scout for any unwanted guests and physically remove the beginnings of a nest early. This not only helps keep them out of your space but gives the queen time to reestablish a nest somewhere else that is safer for both parties and allows them to coexist with us more favorably. 

We always encourage having a bee or wasp identified before managing a nest, for a multitude of reasons. Your local beekeeper may be skilled and willing to help you remove a hive or swarm of honeybees from your property, but they won’t want to go near wasps any more than you might. Some species, like carpenter bees, may cause property damage and management may include removal of the bees as well as some minor carpentry repairs.  Others, like the Cicada Killer, may appear big and scary, but want nothing to do with humans and can be left alone to complete their season.  

If you or a family member has an allergy, damage is being done to property, or the nest is in a high traffic area, removal of the nest may be appropriate. Chemical management products, like bee and wasp sprays, are highly effective when used according to the label. These products will kill the insects. Not all products may fit all situations, so check labels carefully. As an example, sprays for ground bees and wasps should be labeled for ground use. Remember to read the label in its entirety before use and follow all instructions as written. Consider hiring a pest removal professional who can take the proper safety precautions. These professionals also know strategies that may help reduce the impact on nearby pollinators, treating only the problem at hand. 

If you have questions about bees or wasps or need help identifying them to navigate which action to take, the UConn Home & Garden Education Center is here to help!  

The UConn Home & Garden Education Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at cahnr.uconn.edu/extension/locations. 

This article was published in the Hartford Courant September 6, 2025

The Fall Invasion of the Asian Lady Beetle

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By Marie Woodward, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

multi-colored Asian ladybeetle on a flower

As the leaves change color and the weather turns colder, many people look forward to the beauty and coziness of autumn. However, one uninvited guest often accompanies the season: the Asian lady beetle. This insect, scientifically known as Harmonia axyridis, can be a nuisance to homeowners as it seeks shelter in warm buildings during the fall months.

The Asian lady beetle is native to eastern Asia but was introduced to the United States and other parts of the world in the early 20th century as a biological control agent for aphids and other pests. While they are highly effective at controlling these pests in the gardens and crops, their rapid spread and tendency to congregate in large numbers have caused problems for homeowners.

These beetles are easily recognizable by their orange to reddish-brown coloration, small black spots on their wing covers, and distinctive M-shaped marking behind their head. Their size ranges from 5-8mm in length. They have six short legs and two antennae.

During the fall, the Asian lady beetle seeks protected locations to spend the winter. They gather in large groups, often on the sunny side of buildings, before ultimately finding their way into homes and other structures through cracks and gaps. It is not uncommon to find them gathered in attics, wall voids, or other quiet, undisturbed areas.

Once inside, these beetles can become a nuisance due to their sheer numbers and tendency to release a yellowish, foul-smelling liquid when disturbed. This liquid can stain walls, fabrics, and other surfaces, and may cause allergic reactions in some individuals. Additionally, some people find the beetles’ scent unpleasant or even nauseating.

Prevention is key to avoiding an Asian lady beetle infestation. Sealing entry points, such as cracks around windows, doors and utility openings, can significantly reduce the likelihood of an invasion. Additionally, keeping exterior lights off at night and planting trees or shrubs away from the house can reduce the attractiveness of your home to these insects.

If beetles have already found their way inside, using a vacuum cleaner is the best means of removal. However, be sure to dispose of the vacuum bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately to prevent the beetles from returning back into your home. Alternatively, insect light traps or sticky traps can help capture and remove beetles.

It’s essential to remember that while the Asian lady beetle can be a nuisance, it is not a significant threat to your home or your health. Taking proactive measures to prevent their entry and managing their presence can significantly reduce the annoyance caused by these uninvited guests.

As the fall season arrives, keep in mind the potential for Asian lady beetles to seek shelter in your home. By understanding their behavior and implementing preventive measures, you can enjoy the beauty and warmth of autumn without the invasion of these pesky insects.

If you have questions about Asian lady beetles or other gardening topics, contact the UConn Home & Garden Education at (877) 486-6271 or www.homegarden.cahnr,uconn.edu or your local Cooperative Extension Center.