It is Monday, and I don’t know what the weather has in store for us for the week, but our topsoil is dry and I am concerned. Perhaps it will rain before the ground freezes, but I don’t know if the rain will be sufficient to give our shrubs and shallow-rooted trees enough moisture to keep them healthy through the winter. A good soaking now will ensure that will not be a problem later. That will allow the plants to hydrate and that is all they need for this season. The wonderful rainfall we had a couple of weeks ago seemed like it would do that watering for us, but it has been warm and windy and the topsoil moisture is gone again.
We have had a frost, so if you feel that you must prune your shrubs in the fall, you will not damage them. I appreciate the interest those plants give to the winter landscape, so I wait until spring to do my cleanup. Then I only have to do it once.
If you are wanting to plant a tree, you still have time to do that until the ground freezes … after that it gets too hard to dig the hole. Water the tree thoroughly when you finish planting it, and that should be all the watering you need to do for this season. This is a good time to observe the features and form of various trees, and that can be a great factor in deciding the kind of tree you would appreciate on your property.