Nebraska Extension in Dodge County

By Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator

When cleaning up the fall garden, it’s hard to know what should be cleared away and what should stay.  Gurus of tidiness opt for removing everything now in order to start with a clean slate in the spring.  But is there such a thing as too much tidiness?  It turns out that, yes indeed, that can be true. 

Plant stems act as a catch-all, collecting leaves, twigs and other bits of organic debris around the crown of perennial plants. This mulch layer protects the crown and root system from weather extremes, making them more winter-hardy.

By Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator

This season’s autumn colors have been exceptional. Shortened day lengths, sunny and warm days, cool nights, and adequate soil moisture provide the perfect conditions to showcase autumn’s greens, golds, reds, oranges and coppers in our trees and shrubs.  Fall leaf color is a dynamic process, influenced by the decline and production of pigments within leaves.  It isn’t unusual for leaf colors to fluctuate throughout fall or to have a myriad of colors at the same time on one tree.

Green