How are you going to handle your fall decorating this year? I always put in some fall flowers, real pumpkins, and scarecrows. I will carve some of the pumpkins into Jack O’Lanterns, but I’ll set uncarved pumpkins on the stairs and the sidewalk.
Some of the most common flowers for fall are chrysanthemums, pansies, ornamental cabbages, and ornamental kale, which aren’t flowers but are grown for their gorgeous foliage. So’s here how to care for them:
Ornamental Cabbages and Kale
Believe it or not, these plants THRIVE in colder weather and achieve the best color as the weather gets colder. Plant them in full sun. Feed them when you first plant them, but don’t feed them over the winter; they achieve better color when you don’t overfeed. They will make it through the winter well but don’t like hot weather, so they will usually bolt (go to seed) in late spring and die. But all winter long, they are gorgeous. Water when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch.
Pansies
Add a fertilizer for blooming plants when you plant them. Mulch them with a couple of inches of mulch to help protect the roots when they get below the twenties. Pansies need six hours or more of direct sun to bloom their best. Occasionally, deadheading the flowers (removing dead flowers) will also help them bloom their best. Pansies planted directly in the ground may last a bit longer than pansies planted in pots because, in pots, their roots are more exposed to air temperatures. Pansies, like ornamental kales and cabbages, will often bolt in hot weather. Water when the top inch of the soil is dry to the touch.
Mums
I usually plant mums as annuals—plants I’ll toss in the spring. If you want to try to keep yours, then you’ll need to make sure they have full sun, and you’ll need to plant them directly in the ground and mulch them with three inches of mulch to protect the roots. Otherwise, about one inch of water is required once a week. Mums in containers will last longer on porches with little winter protection.
Other Options
There are other plants you can look to for beautiful fall colors. Several perennials often bloom in fall: Sedum “Autumn Joy,” Gaillardia, Japanese Anemone, Joe Pye Weed, Asters, and fall-blooming crocus. Dahlias usually won’t make it over the winter but are often still in full bloom in the fall, particularly if you are good at deadheading mid-summer.
Some shrubs have glorious fall color—Burning Bush turns a breathtaking, vibrant red in the fall, Smoke Bush turns a dramatic royal purple, and Japanese maples turn a lovely dark red.
And you don’t have to toss uncarved pumpkins after Thanksgiving. The ones on my sidewalk? I stick Santa hats on them!