Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials such as daylilies, phlox, coneflowers, and daisies.
Gardening Tasks by Month for Fort Worth, TX
Gardening Tasks for October
Fort Worth, TX
Once leaves begin to fall, be sure to remove them from your lawn. Wet leaves can block sunlight and increase the chance of disease.
Deadhead spent blooms to encourage flowering.
Bring in any tender houseplants and place them in a sunny spot. Cut back on the fertilizer and remember to water them.
Cut back watering for your plants as the days shorten and become cooler.
Resume full fertilizing of roses as weather cools.
Overseed established Bermuda lawns from mid-month through November for a greener winter lawn.
Continue to replant or establish cool-season lawns.
Bring in all houseplants. Make sure to check them over carefully for pests before you do!
Plant transplants such as: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, garlic, and lettuce.
Remove all diseased debris and dead plants to keep certain garden pests from overwintering.
Harvest sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and winter squash.
Plant winter-hardy trees and shrubs. Plants set out now have more time to become established before spring growth.
Test your lawn and garden soil for its pH levels. If your soil is too acidic, you have time to fix it before the next growing season.
Cut back annuals when they finish flowering.
Do not fertilize annuals.
Use only phosphate fertilizers on perennials and bulbs (no nitrogen).
Plant any perennials. Divide and replant overcrowded perennial beds. Remember to apply a layer of organic matter to the new bed.
Plant cool-season annuals, such as pansies and snapdragons, when the temperature begins to fall.
If you purchased spring-blooming bulbs, plant them as soon as you get them.
Plant spring wildflowers now.
Save the seeds from your self-pollinating flowers, such as marigolds, cosmos, or coneflowers, to plant next spring by drying them and storing them in closed containers.
Plant new perennials, shrubs, and trees; they have a better chance to establish themselves during the milder fall months than those planted in the spring.
Divide and transplant iris, peonies, and other spring blooms as they go dormant.
Dig up and divide crowded spring-blooming bulbs whenever they are dormant.