Gardening: Some fall caveats and more about evergreens…

I want to share some caveats for fall and then finish up with fast-growing evergreens.
First I need to warn/remind you of some fall hazards. Second home owners need to be especially wary this time of year. We are in Zone Six, garden-wise, which means our average date of first frost is October 15, two days from now.
Since many of us were happily at the beach last weekend, frost doesn’t really seem to be on the horizon, but this time of year things can change quickly. The safest course is simply to bring in all house plants that have been summering outside. If second home owners have someone here on the Island they can call and beg/pay for favors, they can live dangerously, but all of us should keep an eye on the weekly forecast. And that means the weekly forecast here, not in New York City.
Another caveat: if you’re waiting for UPS to deliver your bulb order, consider the spot, I mean the actual physical spot, where they usually leave your packages. Is it in the sun? For how many hours? If it’s more than one or two hours, consider leaving a note with a specific requested designation spot and/or leaving the garage door open. The point is to prevent the package from lying in the sun for hours while you are either at work or off Island.
For some reason, and I can’t explain the horticultural details, heat lowers the quality of the bulb, producing fewer, as well as smaller blooms. This is especially true for tulip bulbs. Similarly, if you are shopping at a nursery in some mall somewhere, and the bulbs are on tables outside, look up and see if they’re in sunlight. They shouldn’t be. Actually, since the outdoor temps have been above 80 degrees recently, they shouldn’t be outdoors at all. This kind of garden mindlessness is why you really have to watch where you shop.
One more caveat: it’s easy to feel that since the season is winding down and you’re busy closing beds, you can largely leave watering up to the heavens. No, not at all. Yes, you can largely ignore your perennial beds but it’s the time of year to be particularly vigilant where your evergreens and willows are concerned. For evergreens to be protected from the drying winds of winter, they must go into the season with their needles full of water. This means they need extra water during the fall in order to stand up successfully to winter’s cold and lower humidity.
Willows are in a separate category altogether — they are the thirstiest type and crave water all season but especially now. You might consider setting a sprinkler on a timer for 15 minutes a day and leave it until mid-November. That’s when you can stop watering and not before, despite the enormous temptation to do so.
With a little space left here for evergreens, let me recommend some of the fastest growing: Leyland cypress come highly recommended by most authorities. They grow up to 6 feet a year if planted in full sun, adapt well to different soils and are drought-tolerant. For total seclusion, they should be planted 6 feet apart. They are among the most popular evergreen trees available.
Then there are Thuja Green Giant and Thuja Steeplechase. These are the upright conical, narrow evergreens that you see bordering acreage everywhere in Europe. Where we use fences, they use thuja. They should be planted 4 to 5 feet apart and in full sun; given their narrow shapes, they are a good choice for smaller yards.
Next week, I think we’ll move indoors — it’s time.