Are you feeling that slight chill in the St. Louis air? It’s time to start preparing your plants for the cooler days that are on the way. While fall isn’t exactly the most exciting time of year for gardeners, there are still lots of fun things to be done in your home garden! For example, it’s the best time to plant trees and shrubs, and it’s cool enough to do digging and other strenuous tasks that can be harder to perform in our hot and humid Midwest summers. There’s even time to plant cold-tolerant veggies and flowers!

Listed below are our Quiet Village picks for fall gardening tasks:

Bring in Tender Plants

As soon as nights start to get chilly, it’s time to bring in any houseplants, tropicals, and succulents that have been outdoors for summer. Remove all dead leaves, branches, and inspect the plant for insects. This is also a great time to repot your plants with a fresh potting mix.

Place your houseplants in bright light while keeping the soil lightly moist, and keep your tropical plants in a cool, dark place while keeping them barely moist so that they enter dormancy.

Remove Damaged Branches

While shearing shrubs isn’t recommended, fall is a good time to remove limbs that are diseased, damaged or otherwise detrimental to a plant’s form or overall structure.

Plant Spring Bulbs

Spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils require a cold winter in order to bloom to their full potential, so planting them now in fall will ensure they get all the cold they need. Plant tulips eight inches deep and daffodils nine inches deep.

Make Decorations from the Garden

Pumpkins, gourds, and squashes can easily be grown in your backyard for some seasonal decorations. If the first frost is in the forecast, be sure to make good use of any remaining blooms or foliage by turning them into a locally harvested flower arrangement!

For more fall gardening tips, check out our blog post on Fall Tree and Shrub Planting: Do’s and Don’ts.