CLEVELAND, Oh — Labor Day Weekend signals the transition from summer to fall when it comes to yards and flowers. Fox 8’s Scott Sabol spent some time with AJ Petitti, President of Petitti Garden Centers, to find out what needs our attention this time of year.

The Petitti Team put together these tips:

FALL LAWN CARE

Labor Day Weekend signals the point in the season when you want to apply Scotts Step® 4, which works to green up the lawn now while also strengthening and protecting it so that it produces better results next spring. Step 4 can be applied anytime Labor Day through mid-October and watering in this particular step does help to speed the greening.

If seeing patches of dead grass in your lawn, rake it out, put topsoil down, and sprinkle Scotts EZ Seed® Patch & Repair, which combines grass seed with an absorbent mulch that prevents seed from drying out and dying out. It also stays in place on slopes and hills.

If your lawn looks thin, the fall season is also your opportunity to over-seed, which will work to fill out the lawn now and next spring. Over-seeding also supports prevention of weeds and disease.

FALL PLANT COLOR

Fall is an excellent time to plant, as the warm days and cool evenings support healthy root systems and help perennial plants to establish quickly and with ease.

Caryopteris – This fall-blooming perennial produces rich purple-blue flowers late summer through fall while attracting butterflies and resisting deer.

Mums – A classic fall favorite, mums bloom late summer through fall and are often used as annual color, though Hardy mums may return next year if planted early enough in the season to establish for the long-term.

Autumn Joy Sedum – An upright sedum, this perennial delivers flowers that appear in the form of flat clusters, which start off pink and then turn bronze to rust-red.

Sweet Autumn Clematis – This perennial produces a shower of beautiful white flowers in late summer and becomes a silvery mass of fluffy seed heads in the fall.