Start preparing your garden this fall for a successful garden next season. At Phipps, we begin preparing the outdoor gardens for winter from late September through mid-October using the following guidelines:

Watering

All beds should be well watered going into winter. If rainfall has been light, slowly soak all trees, large shrubs and perennial flower beds for a good solid drink before dormancy.

Soil

Take soil samples for lawns, flower beds and other garden areas now so you are ready to amend the soil come spring. Penn State soil test kits are usually available in the Shop in the Park at Phipps Garden Center in Mellon Park, at local nurseries and at the Penn State Cooperative Extension office. (Call 412- 473-2540.)

New beds can be dug now. The winter freeze/thaw cycle will continue to loosen the heavy soil, making it more manageable in spring. Organic fertilizer and 3 to 4 inches of compost on top of clay soil during winter help create a balanced, friable soil.

Be sure to cover bare soil with mulch, such as compost or chopped leaves, to prevent compaction over the winter.

Pruning

Perennials can be cut back, after blooming, in late fall, once the leaves have been killed by frost. Those that are still attractive can be left to over-winter uncut for winter effect and to provide seed for birds. These include ornamental grasses, sedums and members of the aster family. Some marginally hardy perennials may be best left uncut to help protect their crowns over winter.

Don't prune trees and shrubs after mid-summer. Pruning too late in the season can encourage new growth that will not have time to harden off before cold weather arrives. The exception is dead material, which can be removed at any time. It is still safe, however, to cut holly branches for holiday decorating.

Roses

When roses go dormant, it is time to protect them for the winter, especially prized hybrid teas and floribundas. Clean up all fallen leaves to lessen the chance of disease next year. Make cages out of chicken wire to enclose roses and fill them with straw or leaves to protect the plants over the winter. Pile mulch up to and around the graft, protecting it from extremes in temperature when the soil thaws and heaves during the winter. Cut climbing roses back to the edge of their supports so they will not be whipped around by winter winds.

Mulching

Make sure mulch is at least a couple of inches away from the trunks of trees and shrubs so critters can't easily chew the bark and damage or kill the tree or shrub. If the bark is chewed off all or most of the way around the plant, it will be girdled and will die.

Perennials planted this season, those with shallow roots and any that have heaved in the past should be protected by mulch after the first hard frost. Evergreen branches are ideal. They will help prevent thawing and heaving of plants but also allow air and water to penetrate.

Protection

Vulnerable roadside or driveway woody plants can be protected from salt spray by creating a barrier with burlap around the exposed sides of the plant. Apply tree netting to deter deer and rabbits from munching on susceptible woody plants.

Anti-desiccants can help prevent evergreens from drying out over the winter if they are applied a few times during the coldest months.

If you have had problems with bulbs being eaten over the winter, lay a wire screen or hardware cloth over the bulb area and remove it in early spring. Or for burrowing rodents, plant bulbs in a box made of hardware cloth or into a handful of gravel.

Protect multi-stemmed evergreen shrubs such as arborvitae from heavy snow and ice by tying branches together loosely with a pliable material to keep stems in place. Or, drive a stake into the ground beside the plant and, starting from the bottom, loosely wrap twine to the top between stake and plant.

Clean-up

Rake leaves off the lawn to help prevent snow mold fungus . For the last mowing of the season, set the mower an inch shorter than normal. Clean all fallen debris and fruit from around woody trees and shrubs to keep insects from over-wintering beneath them. Do a final weeding around mid-November to help eliminate vigorous spring weeds.

Compost

Turn compost after the first hard frost to discourage critter infestation. Cover with black plastic to keep the soil temperatures warmer. A bit of soil added to your compost may help the breakdown process continue, although slowly, through the winter.

Storing

Dig up tender bulbs before the ground freezes and store them in a cool area . Store trellises, stakes, drained water hoses, cleaned tools, clay pots and other equipment in a dry shed or garage organized and prepared for next year's use.