Moon Valley Nevada Blog

October Landscape and Garden Tips

Written by Jessica Downs | 10/5/18 3:00 PM

Tips for Lawn Care and Plant Care 

The weather is just starting to cool down, that means it is now time to start taking care of your yard. The hot summer may have beaten your yard up a bit, so it needs to be brought back to good health and ready for the autumn weather! October is one of the best times of the year to rebuild a landscape or start a new project (or finish the one you started last spring!). Fall is also the best time of year to plant any trees, shrubs, and other plants you’ve had your eye on to improve your yard.

The Las Vegas area is finally getting cooler days and even cooler evenings. This is a welcomed relief from the blistering summertime heat, and relief for any home owner who has been avoiding the sun for months! While we can start to enjoy being outside more and working on our yard, the soil is still warm and will hold onto the heat for a while. This makes for a perfect environment to transplant any plants or trees and get maximum root growth potential and prepping it for long term success.

Watering Tips

Any time the weather starts to change, your watering schedule needs to change too! Now is the time to adjust your watering schedule for the fall season, so be sure to change the timer for your landscape or manual watering schedule accordingly. Since we have cooler nights and days, the soil can hold on to moisture longer. This means that you can use less water through the fall and winter. While this gives you the chance to save some money on your utility bill, you still want to water the same amount for each watering session. You just don’t need to water as frequently.  

  • For Low Water varieties, water 1 time and do this every 10 days (New Trees, water 1x a week).
  • For Moderate Water varieties, water 1 time every 10 days (New Trees, water 2x a week).
  • For Topical varieties, water 1 time per week (New Trees, water 2x a week).

Click here to read more about our Watering Guide Schedule.

Weeding Tips

There are no more excuses now that summer is going away and taking the miserable heat with it! It's time to remove those weeds now! October is a great time for getting rid of all those weeds that are still taking over your yard and still dropping seeds for more. Once they are cleared out of your lawn, we suggest using pre-emergent herbicides. Spray these now to help prevent new weeds from forming during falls rains. This can also reduce the work waiting for you in the spring by helping lessen and prevent weeds through the winter.

Don't let those weeds settle in. Come visit Moon Valley Nurseries today and let us help you fight off those weeds!

Fertilizing Tips

We cannot stress enough about how important it is to make fertilizing a regular habit for everything in your landscaping. And by everything, we mean all your trees, flowers, vegetables, shrubs, and of course - your lawn.

Using the proper fertilizer, like our custom Moon Royale, during this crucial time ensures optimal health and growth. Your lawn has been working hard all summer to survive and now it needs a bit of extra nutrients. Our Moon Juice, the best root enhancer on the market today, should be a staple in every yard. It can be used on all your trees, flowers, vegetables and any other plants all year long, especially in Nevada. 

Get things fertilized now for the second growing season. It will also get them strong and ready for the upcoming winter! Click here for all our fertilizer products and see which ones fit your lawn care needs best!

Reseeding Tips

As the summer grass starts to die down, and the thatch on your lawn has been removed, it’s time to reseed for the winter. You might have a whole lawn to seed or maybe just a few sparse areas where summer weeds took over.

Whichever situation you are in, the soil (with some help from the previously mentioned fertilizer) is at its best right now for those seeds to grow full and green.

For more information on reseeding, check out our tips and tricks for your winter grass!

Tree Care Tips

The fall season is the time to trim off any dead or damaged sections of the tree that may have occurred over the summer from heat or seasonal storms. Make sure to cut back any excessive branches and to also clean all your citrus and fruit trees of unwanted tree suckers.

For more tree care tips, or general questions, please reach out to our Tree Care team and one of our I.S.A. Certified Arborists will be ready to help!

Best Trees to Plant in October

Piru Queen Palm (Arecastrum romanzoffianum)

The Piru Queen Palm is the embodiment of what you picture when you think of a palm tree. An excellent palm for the southwest and to use as a focal point in any size yard! At Moon Valley Nurseries, we custom grow our Piru Queen palms ourselves to make sure every palm has a thicker, sturdy trunk, greener fronds, and a fuller crown. The Queen Palm is a perfect choice for a look that is sure to add a tropical resort feel to any landscape. These beauties are extremely well-suited for the Las Vegas desert climate and they are custom grown to be further resilient to heat or cold.

 

 

 

 

Tipu Tree (Tipuana tipu)

The Tipu tree offers enormous shade, ridiculous growth rate, low water usage, and lively yellow pea-shaped flowers. These amazing features have made this a popular tree for homeowners across Arizona. When you know you want more shade in your yard, the Tipu is the perfect choice.

This semi-evergreen grows extremely fast and spread out with age, producing a layered umbrella-shaped canopy. Its growth habit and massive canopy of shade makes it an ideal tree to cool your home, shade your patio, or a natural way to protect other plants in your yard from the summer sun.

 

 

 

Crape Myrtle Tree (Lagerstroemia)

The Crape Myrtle tree has something to offer all year long but stands out in late spring to summer when it begins producing stunning blooms of purple, pink, red, and white flowers. Those colors create a stimulating visual when planted in clusters or accent locations.

The Crape Myrtle is known for its lengthy and constant bloom cycle and fits well in just about any landscape. In the fall, the Crape Myrtle’s foliage turns to a showy bright orange to match the spirit of your fall festivities!

 

 

 

Japanese Blueberry Tree (Elaeocarpus decipiens)

Another amazing tree to add to your yard is the Japanese Blueberry Tree. This is a striking evergreen tree that grows upright and is a popular choice for southwestern landscapes. This tree catches the eye of anybody who sees its dense and lush dark green foliage. It can easily turn your yard into your own personal forest!

The Las Vegas heat is nothing for this tree. They are heat and cold tolerant, which keeps it looking attractive and all year round. It also requires very little pruning, unless you decide to keep it trimmed and plant them as a privacy hedge (or trim cool designs!).

 

 

 

Majestic Ash Tree (Fraxinus uhdei ‘Majestic’)

The Majestic Ash tree is an attractive tree that adds value to your landscape just by being there! What makes this one of the best trees to plant is not just how good it looks (and it does) but how useful it is for any yard.

The Majestic Ash grows upright with thick and shiny green foliage. They can be planted as a single tree for a focal point or as multiple trees in a row, which would create a wall and allow more shade AND privacy in your yard. Our Majestic Ash trees handle full sun, stubborn soil, and becomes more water wise, once established.