Gardening Tips in September

September – definitely a favourite month of mine with so many changes about to happen in the garden. Mornings are dewier, and crisper; autumn hangs in the air and the days are becoming noticeably shorter. The climatic differences in our country become most apparent now. The north will start having colder weather with overnight and early morning frosts.

Propagation

Take tender perennial cuttings such as pelargoniums, fuchsias and argyranthemums, but try and do this early in the month thus increasing your chances of success. Alternatively you could just keep the old plants well sheltered; preferably indoors and take the cuttings in the spring.

Take hard woodcuttings from roses. Plant them straight into the ground in lines. I often do it in my veg garden.

Begin to divide overgrown perennials; lift and divide them, replanting the most vigorous sections of roots. Calamints, lemon balm, lovage, mint, chives, salad burnet and betony are suitable for this treatment.

Begin collecting seeds, clean them up and store in a dry cold place.

Pruning

Continue to prune climbing roses when the flowers are over.

Prune out old raspberry canes and tie down this years new canes that will provide next summers fruit.

Planting

There is still time to sow biennials and hardy annuals; also for planting spring flowering bulbs. Plant bulbs through the lawn so they can naturalise in the lawn.

This is a good time to plant new trees, shrubs, climbers and perennials like Digitalis purpurea var albiflora, Anchusa ‘Loddon Royal’, Calendula officinalis, Centaurea cyanus, Papaver somniferum while the soil is still warm from the summer and the chances of drought have gone.

Edibles

Begin lifting root veg and storing them.

This is the traditional time to sow garlic.

If you have been growing some squashes now is the time to harvest the last of them.

Lift and store your main crop potatoes and plant onion sets storing them in a dry cool spot.

Plant new strawberry plants.

If you have growing spring cabbages now is the time to plant out.

Keep up with the harvesting of apples and pears.

Lawns

Start mowing less frequently and it is now the time to think about giving the lawn an autumn feed to build up the grass roots for the winter.

Great time of the year to sow or lay new lawns.

Scarify and aerate established lawns.

Indoors plants/Glasshouses

This is a good time to purchase a greenhouse so you can over winter cabbages and start sowing very early next year. Bring in all the spring flowering bulbs in pots and they will flower that much earlier.

Reduce the watering of houseplants and start moving them into the brightest rooms in the house.

Bring any houseplants you’ve had on your patio indoors.

You should stop feeding your pot grown plants now.

Reduce the watering and ventilation in the greenhouse esp. any cuttings.

Force hyacinths for Christmas.

Give the greenhouse a good clean in preparation for the winter.

Maintenance

This is a good time of the year to do some construction in the garden, as it is now not too hot or too cold.

Thin out congested pond plants but make sure you wash off any wildlife before discarding. Cover your ponds with netting to stop leaves and other debris from falling in.

Now is the time to start tidying up the garden and for making your own compost area if you don’t already have one.

Dispose of any plants or leaves that has had or you think has had disease.

Leave some leaves and wood in the corner of the garden for insects to hibernate.

You can start deadheading and cutting back but I tend to leave it as long as possible for structural decoration and for insects and the birds.

This is the best time of the year take a note book and walk around the garden and access what has done well or not so, and where things should be moved to or removed all together or any redesigning that needs to be done.

If you have a heavy soil like clay it is a good time to dig it over well and add some good organic matter while it is dry, for the wet weather makes it impossible.

Towards the end of the month when the foliage has dead back lift and divide, store Gladioli, dahlias before the frost damages them.

Plants that look good this month