After one of the driest Septembers in memory, I am so anxious for rain that I decided to write about drought again. Given the forecast, and since I write at least four days before you read this, hopefully a bit of relief will have already arrived.

Still I fear there is a risk that we should take some action to help our plants successfully navigate the weather from now to next spring. Of course I'm talking about water, and fall is normally the time when supplemental water should be withheld to discourage growth and prepare the plant for winter dormancy.

I am concerned when I see obvious wilt. My targets here are new transplants, shallow rooted plants, and a few surprises. I'm watching one of those large shrub-small tree type hydrangeas that have been in the ground at least three years. It is showing a lot of wilt. In other words, watch the large leafed plants in your garden.

Many trees seem to be losing leaves prematurely. If you have trees planted within the last five years I might aim some extra water in their direction. This is especially necessary if you transplanted larger specimens.

The real purpose of this article is to point out that broadleaf evergreens, like azaleas and rhododendrons and their friends, as well as the conifers (needled evergreens) will continue to respirate and lose moisture during the winter. Cold temperatures, wind and lack of moisture can combine to produce ugly or worse with these plants.

Since the broadleaf evergreens are also shallow rooted I would definitely water these to prevent them going into the period of frozen ground with moisture distress. The normal perennials that die to the ground and the trees and shrubs that lose their leaves will be less susceptible to this weather induced injury.

Another mitigating factor is the use of mulch to hold the moisture. I try to get and keep a light coat on all my landscape plantings. To me light is the key word. A common practice is to really pile it on in an effort to smother the weeds. That also smothers plants if we fail to keep the mulch away from the base of the plants.

Recently I did some September volunteer planting in a public garden. I dug and I dug to get through the mulch. Expecting to find nice friable soil I was shocked to bring up clods of wet soil. That's too much mulch. Think about the quality of that root zone in a normal or wet year.

Also piling mulch around the base of plants is a sure invitation to diseases. Rodents are also happy to join the negative action if they have safe hiding places.

A second example came from a friend, who, in despair had decided that they were gardening failures and were ready to turn the job over to professionals. After discussion I discovered that they were using at least four inches of mulch on perennials, were not too discerning about their light availability and were stuffing plants into their garden at a pace that would make me look like a slacker.

Although I have no problem seeking professional help I suggested that they slow down, decrease the mulch and be a little more experimental in their plantings. Try one or two of plant x before writing a big check for fifty of them.

I quit with another example that is totally unrelated to the above. I was sitting in a hospital room with my mother when I over heard a woman complaining about the disaster that her lawn was. After repeated unsuccessful seedings, repeated applications of fertilizer and repeated doses of weed killer, she had given up and called a professional to reseed her yard. My guess is that given the toxic brew she has created, the professional will fail too.

I guess that's why I sit down each week and offer advice, admit my failures and share my successes.