Should You Replant Flowers in Autumn?
2021-10-19
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1Nobody ever said gardening offers immediate results.
2That is what Lee Reich warns in his latest report in a series for the Associated Press about gardening.
3With this limitation in mind, he dug up one of his flower beds recently.
4For plants, autumn is a good time for a flower-bed makeover.
5A makeover changes the appearance of something almost completely, so it looks a lot better.
6During the autumn, cooler temperatures slow water loss from leaves.
7This means that plants can better deal with being taken out of the ground and roughed up before having their roots placed back into soil.
8Leaves help support new root growth, helping the plants re-establish themselves in their new homes.
9However, if you gave most plants this kind of rough treatment in the summer, most would die.
10The major reason for Reich's flower-bed makeover was some Siberian irises that had grown wildly.
11They threatened to take over the whole bed.
12It might be that you cannot have too many iris flowers, but after the flowers disappear, you surely can have too many iris leaves.
13His were taking up space where other, later flowering plants could be beautifying the garden.
14The same could be said for the daffodils in that bed.
15Both Irises and daffodils grow from round bulbs.
16They found the bed much to their liking, and created many more bulbs year after year.
17They presented a glorious and welcome sea of yellow each spring.
18But the yellowing leaves that followed were a sorry sight for too long.
19At least the iris leaves looked orderly the whole season.
20Autumn is also a good time for a flower-bed makeover.
21That is because any planting mistakes -- lack of midsummer flowers, poor color combinations or too many irises and daffodils -- are still fresh in mind.
22In addition, Reich's bed suffered from becoming too much of a disordered mix of flowering plants.
23It had become a home, although it was supposed to be only a temporary one, for many flowers that he had been given or had bought without any thought.
24Diving into this chance to redo the whole flower garden, Reich made a plan on paper.
25A good idea is to draw a bird's-eye view of what the garden should look like from above.
26This shows where in the garden each of the flowers should be planted.
27But also draw a human's-eye view - that is, the garden as you would see it from ground level.
28In this human's-eye view, Reich was able to imagine a pleasant mixture of irises, delphiniums and gayfeathers, asters, spireas and black-eyed Susans.
29Including a butterfly bush and baby's-breath flowers would -- Reich hoped -- bring everything together.
30Then the actual work began.
31To thin out plants like irises, he used a garden tool to dig beneath the thick group of plants and lift them out.
32Once out of the ground he cut the group down the center and pulled it apart.
33He replanted parts of the clump and gave away the rest to a fellow gardener for planting.
34And the daffodils? He just dug them up, separated the bulbs by hand, and replanted the largest ones.
35Reich watered everything well to make certain that the roots started to grow as soon as possible.
36After that, he put about five centimeters of small wood pieces, or chips, over everything -- except for the delphiniums.
37He added compost before putting the chips around those plants because they need fertile soil to grow.
38Wood chips are a kind of mulch, or soil covering, that keep the soil from drying out.
39It also keeps soil temperatures from dropping as low in the winter or changing too fast.
40That means mulch gives roots more time to grow before temperatures start to freeze.
41And it prevents freezing conditions from pushing new plants out of the ground.
42For gardeners, there is a downside to autumn flower-bed makeovers.
43The bed looks a little forlorn from the autumn through the winter because you have dug it up and the plants are not ready to grow.
44But everything will look fresh in the spring.
45Yes, it is true gardeners can wait until spring for a makeover.
46But there are many other things to attend to in the spring garden!
47I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Nobody ever said gardening offers immediate results. 2That is what Lee Reich warns in his latest report in a series for the Associated Press about gardening. 3With this limitation in mind, he dug up one of his flower beds recently. 4For plants, autumn is a good time for a flower-bed makeover. A makeover changes the appearance of something almost completely, so it looks a lot better. 5During the autumn, cooler temperatures slow water loss from leaves. This means that plants can better deal with being taken out of the ground and roughed up before having their roots placed back into soil. Leaves help support new root growth, helping the plants re-establish themselves in their new homes. 6However, if you gave most plants this kind of rough treatment in the summer, most would die. 7Why a makeover might be needed 8The major reason for Reich's flower-bed makeover was some Siberian irises that had grown wildly. They threatened to take over the whole bed. It might be that you cannot have too many iris flowers, but after the flowers disappear, you surely can have too many iris leaves. His were taking up space where other, later flowering plants could be beautifying the garden. 9The same could be said for the daffodils in that bed. Both Irises and daffodils grow from round bulbs. They found the bed much to their liking, and created many more bulbs year after year. 10They presented a glorious and welcome sea of yellow each spring. But the yellowing leaves that followed were a sorry sight for too long. At least the iris leaves looked orderly the whole season. 11Autumn is also a good time for a flower-bed makeover. That is because any planting mistakes -- lack of midsummer flowers, poor color combinations or too many irises and daffodils -- are still fresh in mind. 12In addition, Reich's bed suffered from becoming too much of a disordered mix of flowering plants. It had become a home, although it was supposed to be only a temporary one, for many flowers that he had been given or had bought without any thought. 13Make a plan 14Diving into this chance to redo the whole flower garden, Reich made a plan on paper. A good idea is to draw a bird's-eye view of what the garden should look like from above. This shows where in the garden each of the flowers should be planted. But also draw a human's-eye view - that is, the garden as you would see it from ground level. 15In this human's-eye view, Reich was able to imagine a pleasant mixture of irises, delphiniums and gayfeathers, asters, spireas and black-eyed Susans. Including a butterfly bush and baby's-breath flowers would -- Reich hoped -- bring everything together. 16Then the actual work began. To thin out plants like irises, he used a garden tool to dig beneath the thick group of plants and lift them out. Once out of the ground he cut the group down the center and pulled it apart. He replanted parts of the clump and gave away the rest to a fellow gardener for planting. 17And the daffodils? He just dug them up, separated the bulbs by hand, and replanted the largest ones. 18Readying the bed for winter and next year 19Reich watered everything well to make certain that the roots started to grow as soon as possible. 20After that, he put about five centimeters of small wood pieces, or chips, over everything -- except for the delphiniums. He added compost before putting the chips around those plants because they need fertile soil to grow. 21Wood chips are a kind of mulch, or soil covering, that keep the soil from drying out. It also keeps soil temperatures from dropping as low in the winter or changing too fast. That means mulch gives roots more time to grow before temperatures start to freeze. And it prevents freezing conditions from pushing new plants out of the ground. 22For gardeners, there is a downside to autumn flower-bed makeovers. 23The bed looks a little forlorn from the autumn through the winter because you have dug it up and the plants are not ready to grow. But everything will look fresh in the spring. 24Yes, it is true gardeners can wait until spring for a makeover. But there are many other things to attend to in the spring garden! 25I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 26Lee Reich reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 27____________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29roughed up -v. (phrasal) to hit, strike or beat something; to treat harshly 30bulb -n. a round, underground part of a plant that grows into a new plant in the next growing season; a round object 31glorious -adj. something that should be famous; something that is beautiful or very enjoyable 32bird's-eye view -idiom seen from above or as a bird would see it 33clump -n. a somewhat round mass of something 34compost -n. a mixture of plants and organic material that is breaking down and that improves soil 35forlorn -adj. sad, lonely or hopeless; empty or in poor condition 36We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.