Caledonia Argus

Free Fall Plant Exchange

Posted: 9/17/02

Caledoniaís free fall plant exchange will take place on Saturday, September 21 from 8-10 a.m. at the Gazebo in the city park, behind the auditorium. Everyone is welcome to participate in the exchange.

If you are a beginning gardener with no plants to exchange we will be happy to share our plants and enthusiasm with you. Master Gardeners will be on hand with gardening information and will help with plant identification. Please try to have plant material available at 8 a.m. Please label the plants with the name of the plant and any other information you have about it, such as color of bloom, likes a sunny location, etc.

Fall is an excellent time for gardening. The nights are longer and both plants and gardeners enjoy the lower temperatures. Newly divided perennials have time to set roots and get off to a good start when the sunlight is less intense, the moisture is usually available and there is less competition from new weeds. Even after the air begins to chill, the soil remains warmer than the air and gives those new roots time to grow.

The list of good choices for the plant exchange is long and includes peonies, iris, daisies, bee balm, daylilies, hostas and ferns. As a rule, the spring and mid-summer blooming perennials are best for fall division. Mums, asters and sedum that bloom late in the season are best divided in spring.

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