GENERAL TASKS AND GARDEN MAINTENANCE
START YOUR COMPOST
Start your compost going by buying a compost bin or building a partially enclosed and easily accessible area for a heap. It is essential to replace the goodness in soil and autumn produces quantities of garden waste that will add invaluable organic richness back into your soil next spring. Remember to add a variety of different materials; spent vegetable plants are ideal and NEVER add diseased or pest-ridden material to your compost heap – it will nurture whatever villain you are trying to eliminate with loving care!
CLEAR GARDEN DEBRIS
Keep weeding; most perennial weeds are susceptible to weedkiller this month and systemic weed killers will carry on working throughout the winter. Also clear any debris and diseased material from your garden. Pests and diseases that overwinter in your garden will reappear next spring with a vengeance so get rid of them now. Burn diseased material and put the rest of your garden rubbish (apart from woody stems) in the compost.
CLEAN OUT THE GREENHOUSE
Once tomatoes and other greenhouse crops are over, give the greenhouse a thorough clean to prevent pests from making a home in that lovely warm environment, ready to leap into action next spring.............
DIG CLAY SOIL
If your soil is heavy clay, start digging it over now whilst it is still relatively dry. Add plenty of organic matter to improve the quality and pea shingle to improve the drainage. It can be left in a pretty rough state over the winter when the cold will break the lumps down, making spring planting infinitely easier!
WATERING
Should September turn into an Indian summer as predicted (!), remember to keep watering thoroughly once or twice a week rather than little and often. Containers and hanging baskets need watering every day.
For recently planted large shrubs or trees, leave a hose trickling around the base for an hour. The same goes for established plants in dry periods –camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and hydrangeas will abort next season’s flowers if they get too dry.
Ensure trees or shrubs planted in the last couple of years on lawns or in areas of rough grass have a circle of clear earth around them – this MUST be kept clear or grass will prevent essential moisture getting through. Mulching with bark or compost will help.
PLANTING
With the ideal planting conditions of autumn (warm moist soil), now is the time to plant container grown shrubs, trees, fruit bushes, perennials and bulbs. The key to successful planting is to water in well. Soak the rootball in a bucket until no air bubbles come to the surface, dig the planting hole, fill with water and allow to drain away. Place the plant in the hole, fill with soil, firm gently and water well with a watering can – this will give the plant a huge advantage over one planted with a dry rootball in a dry hole and watered only on the surface.
TREES, SHRUBS, CLIMBERS
CONIFERS AND EVERGREENS
Plant and move conifers and evergreens – dig as large a root ball as you can and wrap in hessian to move with minimum disturbance. Plant to the same depth as before, firm in well and water generously. If the new location is windy or exposed, protect the plant with a windbreak to reduce water loss from the leaves through evaporation.
HEDGES
Clip back hedges such as privet, hawthorn, beech, yew, thuja, leylandii and lonicera before mid-September.
ROSES
Keep deadheading roses regularly. Prune climbing roses once the flowers have faded – cut back sideshoots from the main framework to a couple of buds. Remove any diseased, spindly, old and unproductive stems and tie new shoots onto supports at their base.
LAWNS, FLOWERS, TREES AND SHRUBS
LAWNS
Established lawns - reduce the frequency of mowing now and towards the end of the month start to make good the damage of the summer. Scarify (rake out the old dead grass and moss) by hand (hard work!) or with a machine, spike to improve drainage again either by hand with a garden fork or with a machine, add a top dressing of soil/sand/compost mixed according to your soil type (ask for advice at the centre if you are unsure) and feed with autumn lawn feed. This low-nitrogen feed strengthens grass in preparation for winter; do not use spring lawn feed as this encourages grass to grow and it may not survive the cold. After all this your lawn will look dreadful, but fear not, it will benefit enormously from the regime. Repair bumps, hollows, bald patches and broken edges too.
New lawns - now is the time to start making a new lawn. Good preparation is vital whether you are laying turf or sowing seed: remove weeds and stones, dig over thoroughly, adding organic matter and fertiliser, rake smooth, firm by walking up and down and rake again at right angles, repeating the raking and firming process until the area is flat and the surface is a fine crumb texture. Sow seed according to the packet instructions and lay turf in a brick pattern so no joints are in line. Water well and keep off for 4 to 5 weeks.
BULBS, FLOWERS AND CONTAINERS
BULBS
September is the prime time for planting spring bulbs; choose plump firm bulbs and plant within a week of buying in a location with good drainage. Add a little bonemeal for a slow-release fertilizer and grit if the soil is heavy. Ensure pots and containers have plenty of crocks at the bottom. Bury bulbs at twice the depth of their size, tip upwards and ensure there are no air pockets around them. Use them to fill gaps in beds and borders, in formal gardens, in pots and containers, under shrubs and trees or naturalised in grass or woodland.
Make your life easier by investing in a strong good quality dibber and if you have a bad back, a long handled bulb planter.
Start with daffodils (best planted by mid September), narcissi, alliums, crocuses, scillas and chionodoxas - tulips should be left until November.
For a natural look, throw handfuls of bulbs in the air and plant them where they land.
The last chance to plant indoor bulbs to be in flower (hopefully!) for Christmas is mid September. Use bulb fibre or multi-purpose compost with a little added grit, set the bulbs as close as they can possibly be in a bowl at least 4” deep, preferably with a drainage hole. Narcissi and hyacinths should have their noses just showing – all other bulbs (crocuses, scillas and tulips are good candidates) must be covered completely. Make sure the compost is well below the rim of the bowl and leave in a cool dark place inside. Don’t let the compost dry out and when the leaves are 1 – 2” high move into a cool room; when flower buds appear move into full light – preferably again in a coolish room…..GOOD LUCK!
PLANT NEW PERENNIALS AND BRING TENDER ONES INTO SHELTER
While the soil is moist and warm, plant hardy perennials so their roots have a chance to become established before winter. Water well before and after planting and ensure you choose plants that are appropriate for your soil type! Lift and bring tender perennials inside before frosts cause any damage.
DEADHEADING…..
Deadhead dahlias, chrysanthemums, asters and any other spent flowers to keep the garden looking tidy and to encourage dahlias to reflower.
SUPPORT AND DIVIDE!
Autumn can be windy so make sure tall flowers are supported. Once perennials have finished flowering, cut them back and divide large clumps by lifting carefully and separating down the centre with 2 forks back to back. Replant with plenty of organic matter and water generously. Remember some perennials, such as peonies, loathe being disturbed so check before you dig them up.
COLLECT SEED HEADS
Collect seed heads from perennials, alpines, trees and shrubs. Growing plants from seeds you have collected is fantastically rewarding, but be vigilant; seed heads have a nasty habit of ripening and popping whilst your back is turned. Collect when nearly ripe – just as they are turning brown. Snip them off, put them in a paper bag, label and hang somewhere cool, dark and dry.
MOVE ALPINES
If your alpines have outgrown their present home, move to their new location now with a generous ball of soil around the roots and water well once in situ.
POTS AND CONTAINERS
Plant winter bedding and spring bulbs in your pots and containers now. Stop feeding permanent plants and move any tender plants under cover before the cold sets in.
SPRING FLOWERING BEDDING
Buy and plant out violas, wallflowers and primulas now for cheery colour come springtime. Clear old summer bedding, incorporate some organic matter into the soil and plant in drifts for stunning effect. Remember not to grow wallflowers and ornamental cabbages in the same spot two year running; they are brassicas and need rotation to avoid the root disease ‘clubfoot’, which is not only infectious, but persists in the soil.