Garden Center at Rock Hill #1114

Fall is a different time for your lawn and garden, so get out your work gloves, chainsaws, and pole saws. The focus shifts from growing to harvesting, from upkeep to cleanup. We've got fall lawn tips to help you make the most of your garden and landscaping as the season ends. We'll also guide you through planting and harvest. Depending on your climate, you might be able to garden throughout the chillier months. Read on for more on fall garden and lawn maintenance.

Fertilize or Patch Your Lawn
Patch up bald spots on your lawn by overseeding them. Autumn is a great time to fill in brown, dead, or bare places in your yard. However, make sure leaves don't land on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs air, sun, and water to grow, and leaf litter can block out the air and sunlight it needs to germinate.

If your lawn is in good shape, make sure it stays that way by applying lawn fertilizer if you have cool-season grass. Aerate your lawn before fertilizing to get those nutrients down near the roots right off the bat. An edger gives extra polish to the perimeter of your yard. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any weeds that show up. It'll need different maintenance than warm-season grass, which goes dormant as the weather cools. Taper down watering on warm-season lawns.

Fall Gardening
Fall planting is often overlooked, but autumn is the perfect time to get additional flowers in your garden. Chrysanthemums, often just called "mums," provide a beautiful pop of fall color. Find them in shades of white, pink, purple, orange, red, and yellow. Surprisingly, pansies can overwinter as far north as parts of The Great Plains, so consider adding them. They're hardy, but mums are even tougher. Remember to explore the wide variety of fall plant and flower options.

Shrubs and succulents also blossom in the fall, especially if they're already established in the ground or kept in flower pots. Succulent planters allow for easier upkeep of sensitive succulents. Customize the soil to fit these desert plants, as they need a sandy succulent soil mixture.

For shrubs, look after the ones you've got or plant new ones, weather permitting. Get in new plants now, especially if you're in a warmer climate and have time before the frost and cold sets in. If you use retaining wall blocks to surround or accent your garden, try giving a finished look with rubber mulch. It'll overwinter well and resist fading longer than other mulches.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap here and there, but then it'll warm up above freezing again, cover your plants. Protect your garden from freeze and frost damage to extend their season. You can get extra life out of your garden by covering your plants with 5-gallon buckets, tarps, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a greenhouse or blanket, and they'll survive a frost.

This works well when the weather is still transitional, until you're fully into the colder parts of the season. Uncover the plants in the morning when the thermometer goes up again and let them enjoy that fall sun. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, it's time to say goodbye to the garden for the winter.

Put the Garden to Bed
When your annuals start looking rougher, it's time to dig up the plants. Northern climates might be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November, while warmer climates might wait until November or December. After your vegetable plants have given their final harvest, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the detritus, or dead plant debris. You can let them return their nutrients to the soil, but there are two exceptions: if your plants dealt with blight or if you had a slug problem.

If your garden is prone to snails, move the departed plants from the garden to another part of your lawn to decay, or put the plant remains in a yard waste bag. Although slugs and snails are often considered garden pests, they're still part of the ecosystem, so relocate them elsewhere on your property if possible. As for the exception of your plants struggling with disease or blight, simply pack up those dead plants in the leaf and lawn bag to avoid passing any issues on to next year's crop.

After you've removed the old plants, you've got a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a shovel or renting a rototiller. You want to bring the deeper soil to the surface, send the topsoil lower down, and generally break up the ground. It helps nutrients penetrate and lets the soil rest. It's also an excellent opportunity to test the soil and see what, if any, soil amendments you need. Different crops and plants use different nutrients. Test your soil to see if it's balanced or if you need to replenish certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Delicate Plants Indoors
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing delicate plants indoors to a sunny window. Indoor gardening allows both outdoor plants to live longer and house plants to bring joy into your home. Just make sure they get enough water now that they won't benefit from rainfall, and turn them regularly to give all leaves equal sunlight for photosynthesis. If the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes, be sure to add shallow bowls beneath them to catch any extra water.

Warm the Outdoors with an Outdoor Fireplace
Stretch out your fall evenings with a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or patio heater to take off the chill. No matter if you're looking for outdoor heaters for decks, small patios, or cozy porches, we've got options. All you have to do is discover the one that matches your decor style.

We've got fire bowls and fire pit tables ready to warm your outdoor space. Check out stylish propane and natural gas fire pits in a variety of shapes. We've also got woodburning fire pits and the firewood to stoke them. You can even build your own with fire pit kits or make it completely custom and build an in-ground fire pit to fit your vision with pavers that lead to and surround the pit. Stop by your closest garden center to see what's in stock.

Ease Into Fall
This fall, tidy up your yard with us. We have the supplies you need for leaf cleanup, putting the garden to bed, and replenishing nutrients in your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of fall garden care online, in your Rockhill store, or in our mobile app.