In Your Garden

SEPTEMBER

Deadhead and repeat…. to keep your plants in flower for as long as possible. Prolong summer displays. Keep hanging baskets and containers of summer annuals looking good into mid-Autumn by continuing to deadhead, feed and water.

With the hosepipe ban in force- use grey water from baths and sinks…. But use within 24 hrs to prevent bacterial growth. Use only on ornamental plants, rather than edibles- in case of pathogens. 

Many garden plants have now formed mature seed heads. Collect on a dry day and store seeds in paper bags somewhere cool, dry and dark. This provides next year’s plants for virtually nothing eg nigella, calendula and aquilegia.

Don’t cut everything down… Leave some perennial seed heads standing through autumn and winter as food and shelter for birds and insects. Plants such as teasel, rudbeckia and echinacea can be particularly valuable.

Get planting! The soil is warm from summer, while the cooler air and increasing rainfall reduces stress on new plants. Trees, shrubs and many perennials planted in September can establish roots before winter.

September is traditionally an excellent time for scarifying, aerating, feeding and repairing lawns, because grass is still actively growing but isn’t subjected to summer drought. Reuse horticultural fleece or netting to protect the grass seed from birds.

Start planning already for spring! Now is the time to order your spring flowering bulbs, including daffodils tulips and crocuses.

Increase perennials. Divide herbaceous perennials that are finished flowering to increase your plant stock.

Refresh containers: Add cyclamen, violas, heathers or heucheras for autumn colour.

Sow hardy annuals; cerinthe, cornflowers and ammi for early summer blooms and add late-flowering perennials: sedums. asters, and rudbeckias to support pollinators. 

Plant Spring-flowering bedding:- pansies, forget-me-nots and wallflowers go in now. Sow wildflowers which will start to flower next May, and continue for many weeks.

Move self-seeded biennials, such as Foxgloves and Columbine, to places where you can better enjoy the flowers next year.

This is the perfect time to plant Daffodil, Crocus, Iris and other bulbs in open ground and in containers for a beautiful display next spring.     

Divide perennials: Lift phlox, daylilies and astrantia for healthier growth.

Take cuttings: Propagate salvias, pelargoniums and fuchsias before it gets cold.

Prune trained apples and pears: Shorten side shoots to keep shape and fruiting.

Lift tender bulbs: Store gladioli and begonias before the first frosts.

Control vine weevils: Apply nematodes or insecticide to potted plants.

Tidy hedges early. Beech, hornbeam and conifer (including yew) hedges need a final trim of the year to keep them tidy.

Help Nature

Start feeding birds at the very end of the month.

Feed hedgehogs before they hibernate. Leave out a saucer of water for them and other wildlife that might need a drink. Place it near long grass, hedges or other likely resting places- to make life easier for them.

Leave areas of long grass for wildlife shelters as the weather gets colder.

Net your pond. Lots of decaying leaves in a pond reduces the amount of oxygen in the water and builds up silt in the bottom. Catch and compost those fallen leaves instead.

Clear nest boxes so birds can use them for nesting in winter. Line them with dry grass to make them warmer for smaller birds.

Plant bulbs for naturalising. For example Fritillary, Wood Anaenomy and Bluebell can provide food for pollinating insects next spring

Vegetables and fruit

Over winter your chilli plants for a bumper crop next year.

Crop sweetcorn. Push your fingernail into a kernel – they are ready if they release milky sap. If the sap is still watery, wait a week or two for the cobs to ripen

Reduce shade in the greenhouse to make the most of the late summer sun. Your tomatoes and peppers will thank you!

Sow spinach, broad beans, rocket, and winter lettuce.

Pick pumpkins and winter squashes late in the month, once the skins are hardened but before the frosts start. Leave in the greenhouse or porch for 7 to 10 days to cure.

Finish harvesting autumn raspberries but leave the fruited canes in place for pruning next February

Sow dill, coriander and parsley direct to keep supplies coming for weeks to come.

Plant potatoes for Christmas! Maris Piper and Nicola are both good options. Look at the list of recommended cultivars for fruit, vegetables and flowers, given to us by expert Barry Newman, found here on this website.