It’s always a relief when fall comes to central Florida and starts cooling things off. Here we don’t get the stunning vistas of red, yellow and orange leaves blazing on trees as some other regions do, but we can still bring tons of color to our gardens and landscapes.
For example, certain brightly colored flowers are ideal for fall planting:
Annuals: Snapdragon, petunias, pansies
Perennials: Firespike, chrysanthemums, salvia, holly, lilies
Once you decide on your favorite flowers and other hardy plants that thrive in our moderate Florida falls and winters, here are some helpful landscaping tips for these two seasons.
Check with our experts to learn about all the ideal flowers and bulbs to plant in the fall that will keep your flower beds healthy and colorful through the winter. Many home gardeners plant lots of unique flowers each fall to give their landscapes a whole new distinctive look.
If you love growing your own food, fall is the perfect time to plant strawberries, lettuce, collards, broccoli and kale. When using the same bed space for vegetables that you did for spring and summer flowers, remove all the old flowers at the root to prevent the spread of disease and fungus. Once fall has passed, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and cauliflower are great for winter planting.
Herb gardens thrive in Florida when planted in the fall. Most herbs do best when it’s not too hot and not too cold. If you want to buy all the ideal herbs to add to your garden in the fall, visit our Tampa garden center for the biggest selection.
In many regions trees lose all their leaves by mid-fall and should be trimmed at that time. Here in Florida, in most cases it’s best to hold off pruning until late in the winter or in early spring. However, shrubs and trees that don’t bloom in the spring can be pruned in January, as can roses. You should fertilize and add mulch to the soil after any pruning.
If you have your irrigation system on automatic, remember to re-set it to decrease the overall amount of water your garden gets. This applies to flowers, vegetables, shrubbery and lawns. Water goes a lot further when there’s no intense heat to dry it up.
FertilizerFertilizer will do a better job for your landscape after the heavier rains have passed. October is a good month to apply fertilizer, because it won’t be as likely to get washed off and damage nearby foliage.
February is ideal for planting seeds for your spring garden. It’s also ideal for planting deciduous fruit trees so they can take root before the warm weather of spring arrives. If you have established deciduous fruit trees, prune and fertilize them in the winter.
There’s a lot to know about fall and winter landscaping. Do you need help? Then visit our garden center and talk to an expert. We’ll give you plenty of tips on how to keep your outdoor areas beautiful until spring arrives once again.
Cypress Creek Landscape Supply
Open Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. / Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Closed Sunday
12734 N. Florida Ave., Tampa, FL
(813) 933-7944
