The Tricks To Maximizing A Trickle

Usually by October, plants are slowing down and luxuriating in cool, moist conditions. Not this year.

Rainfall in the Washington region is eight to 12 inches below average so far this year. Water conservation is your priority for landscape maintenance.

Loudoun County this month adopted mandatory water restrictions that carry $500 fines. Maryland has placed 15 counties on a "drought watch." Officials of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments have requested that residents shorten showers, turn off the tap when brushing teeth, cut back on or stop watering the landscape, and conserve water in any other way possible.

Without moisture, everything from tubers to trees is suffering. Weather forecasters say the pattern will break and the rains will return, but they don't know when. My neighborhood received one day of rain in September. Areas nearby received none.

If watering is permitted in your jurisdiction, do so in the early morning or early evening to minimize evaporation. Foliage should have enough air circulation and daylight to dry before dark. Soaking hoses are better than sprinklers. Timed irrigation systems are ideal for turf, saving water.

It is critical to understand your irrigation system's controls and your plants' watering needs. Monitor and regulate irrigation so plants aren't soggy and so they receive the proper mix of moisture and air.

Appropriate use of mulch can slow evaporation of water from root zones. Use organic mulches, such as compost or bark. Never place compost against woody trunks; pile it no deeper than two inches.

Most plants prefer moist, well-drained soil. Because your garden will have varying drainage patterns, you might not need to water all plants at the same time. If you can't feel moisture, irrigate. Don't just sprinkle plants. Soak soil enough to penetrate to roots. If you use a sprinkler, the guideline is to catch one inch of water in a saucer on the surface. In this region, that means water has percolated about four to six inches into the soil. With no rain, water weekly.

Soaker hoses, drip lines and bubbler emitters deliver water to the right places much more slowly and efficiently than shooting it into the air. Direct downspouts and other runoff sources toward shrubs, trees and perennials.

Use rain barrels under downspouts, and collect water from other sources for the garden. Secondhand household water sources include air conditioners, dehumidifiers and fish tanks. Gray water from baths, dishes and cooking can also be used in the garden. Deposit it on the soil, not foliage. Don't use water containing bleach, detergent or fabric softener.

Keeping weeds out of the garden also helps. Weeds use moisture that should go to ornamental plants instead. To be sure water is available to roots, don't compact soil by walking on it when it's soggy.

If your plants have gotten the proper attention, they had a glorious growing season that has been extended. Flowers are still going strong, including roses, fall-blooming and repeat-blooming clematis hybrids, aster, boltonia, autumn joy sedum, biennials such as hollyhocks and hirta black-eyed Susans, and annuals. Wait until the plants give up before cutting them down.

Cut perennials when they lose ornamental value. Using a string trimmer, hand sickle, hedge trimmer, power lawn mower (on its highest setting) or hand clipper, cut the top growth of your perennials into as many pieces as possible. Allow two-inch stubble from each plant to stick out of the ground. This will help you remember locations. Except for major accumulations of leaves, leave the debris where it fell. It's nutritious as it decomposes. Exceptions are areas where you have pest-prone plants, such as peonies, boxwoods and tall phloxes. Remove debris from these areas.

Dahlia culture is at its best with a late growing season. These plants will produce another flush of late-season blooms. If you are going to dig them to propagate for next year, let these tender perennials freeze and blacken before harvesting, to ensure that tubers are as mature as possible. With the late autumn, next year should be a bumper season for dahlias.

Clear leaves from areas where they are covering plants, such as low-growing azaleas, junipers, candytufts, hellebores and other evergreen ground covers that will lose foliage if a thick mat of debris is piled on them all winter. Let leaves lie where they can help protect the roots of plants in winter, such as roses, mums, cannas and camellias.

Layers of leaves on the lawn will kill it, so rake and place those leaves into your compost pile. Mow lesser accumulations of leaves. They are nutritious for the turf, as the small particles fall between the blades, adding organic material and nutrients to the lawn.

Get a start on spring and transplant or plant conifers and deciduous shrubs and trees now. Their growth has slowed. The soil you're planting in, or the plants you're digging, must have moisture in the dirt around the roots.

The only pruning that shrubs need this time of year is broken branches, dead wood and light corrective pruning. Wait and observe how your shrubs leaf out and flower in spring before doing any other cutting.

Deciduous trees require a different approach. Fall and winter is the time for a thorough clean-out. Perform every five years or as needed. (Use a tree company for larger trees.) Prune dead wood, crossing branches and limbs growing toward the inside of the tree, and elevate lower limbs four to eight feet above ground. Don't ever leave half branches or short stubs. Leave a 1/4 - to 3/4 -inch flare, called a branch collar, at the base of each branch so the cut will heal efficiently. Don't ever top trees.

And, finally, one solution for fall yard debris is a compost pile. Follow these simple steps:

¿ Put organic material into a bin or a pile that is three to four feet square. Do not add meat scraps or diseased plants. Don't use vegetables in the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and peppers.

¿ Arrange materials in alternating layers -- a six-inch layer of leaves and twigs, then a six-inch layer of grass, weeds and other herbaceous materials. Sprinkle three-quarters of a bucket of soil over the layers of leaves and grass. Continue this process to a maximum height of four feet.

¿ Keep the pile moist. Turn every five to six weeks. It will be ready by May.

Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park, Md. E-mail or contact him through his Web site, http://www.gardenlerner.com.