5 Landscape Mistakes Florida Homeowners Make in Fall (And How to Avoid Them)
October 19, 2025
Expert Tips to Keep Your Central Florida Landscape Thriving This Season
Fall in Florida doesn't look like fall anywhere else. While the rest of the country is raking leaves and winterizing landscapes, Central Florida homeowners face a completely different set of challenges—and opportunities. Unfortunately, many people make common mistakes that can set their landscapes back for months.
Here are the five biggest fall landscaping mistakes we see in Central Florida, and how you can avoid them.
1. Treating Florida Fall Like Northern Fall
The Mistake:
Applying traditional fall landscaping advice from northern states—like heavy pruning, planting spring bulbs, or letting your lawn go dormant.
Why It's Wrong: Florida's fall is actually a growing season, not a time to shut things down. Our warm-season grasses are still active, and October-November offers ideal planting conditions.
What to Do Instead:
Think of fall as Florida's "second spring." Focus on planting, refreshing, and taking advantage of cooler temperatures and lower humidity. This is prime time for landscape projects, not winding down.
2. Over-Pruning Tropical Plants
The Mistake:
Aggressively cutting back palms, hibiscus, bougainvillea, and other tropical plants in October.
Why It's Wrong:
Heavy pruning stimulates new growth, which can be damaged if we get an unexpected cold snap in December or January. You're essentially encouraging tender new shoots right before potential frost.
What to Do Instead:
Save major pruning for late winter or early spring (February-March). In fall, only remove dead, damaged, or diseased growth. Let your tropical plants harden off naturally before cooler weather arrives.
3. Ignoring Irrigation Adjustments
The Mistake:
Keeping your irrigation system on the same summer schedule through fall and winter.
Why It's Wrong:
Florida's fall brings less rainfall and lower humidity, but your plants also need less water as temperatures drop. Overwatering in cooler months leads to fungal issues, root rot, and wasted water (not to mention higher bills).
What to Do Instead:
Reduce your irrigation frequency as temperatures cool. Check soil moisture before watering, and adjust your system settings monthly. Most Central Florida landscapes need 30-50% less water in fall compared to summer.
4. Planting the Wrong Things at the Wrong Time
The Mistake:
Installing summer annuals like impatiens or vinca in October, or waiting until spring to plant shrubs and trees.
Why It's Wrong:
Summer annuals won't survive cooler nights, and you'll waste money replacing them in weeks. Meanwhile, waiting until spring to plant means your new installations will face immediate summer heat stress.
What to Do Instead:
Plant cool-season annuals now (pansies, petunias, snapdragons, dianthus) for months of color. October is also the absolute best time to install shrubs, trees, and perennials—they'll establish strong roots before spring growth kicks in.
5. Neglecting Post-Hurricane Cleanup
The Mistake: Leaving broken branches, damaged plants, or debris in your landscape after storm season.
Why It's Wrong:
Damaged plant material attracts pests, harbors disease, and can cause further problems as it decays. Broken branches can tear and damage healthy growth. Standing water from poor drainage creates mosquito breeding grounds.
What to Do Instead:
Address storm damage promptly. Remove broken branches cleanly, replace severely damaged plants, and fix any drainage issues that heavy rains revealed. Fall's cooler weather makes this work much easier than waiting until summer heat returns.
The Bottom Line
Florida's fall landscape needs are unique, and cookie-cutter advice from national gardening sources often doesn't apply here. Understanding Central Florida's climate, seasons, and plant needs is essential for a landscape that thrives year-round.
Not sure if you're making any of these mistakes? Kennedy Landscaping knows Central Florida landscapes inside and out. We can assess your property, identify potential issues, and create a fall maintenance plan that sets your landscape up for success.
Contact Kennedy Landscaping today for a fall landscape consultation and avoid costly mistakes before they happen. The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.
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