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Although autumn unmistakably arrives this
month, the huge availability of tender perennials means we can all
ensure our gardens remain colourful for a few more weeks. Dahlias
really come into their own, along with salvias, cannas and other
exotics. Crocosmias, perennials asters and Japanese anemones are
easy choices for colour in the border. The weather in early
September can often be warm and sunny, but by the end of the month
it is often unsettled with rain and strong winds. Frost may strike
so gardeners need to be prepared to move tender plants to their
winter quarters. Cacti and houseplants should be brought inside at
the beginning of the month.
ESSENTIAL JOBS CHECKLIST FOR
SEPTEMBER
- Buy spring bulbs for next year
- Plant prepared bulbs for Christmas
flowering
- Dead-head roses and trim back tall stems
- Harvest sweetcorn and onions
- Rake lawn to remove debris and apply
autumn dressing
- Continue to plant containerised trees and
shrubs
- Keep feeding fish in ponds
- Sow new lawns
Last Chance To…
Take cuttings of tender perennials
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TOPICAL TIPS FOR SEPTEMBER
- Buy spring bulbs for next year. For a
wider choice than is available at your local garden centre,
study mail order catalogues. Most bulbs, including daffodils,
hyacinths, lilies and small bulbs are best planted this month
or in early October. Tulips are better planted towards the end
of October
- Give evergreen hedges a final trim to
ensure they are neat for the winter
- Now's the time to go around your garden
collecting seeds from perennials and annuals. Collect seed
heads in paper bags and leave them in a warm place to dry for
a few days, before cleaning and storing in small envelopes.
Some gardens that open to the public offer see-collecting days
– a great way to find something unusual. Most seeds are best
sown in spring
- Sweet pea lovers may find that sowing
seed in autumn produces stronger plants. Do not soak the seeds
as they are liable to rot. Use J Arthur Bower's Traditional
Seed and Potting Compost and sow the seeds in root trainers,
sweet peas tubes, pots or trays. It has been found that dark
coloured seeds germinate well in fairly damp compost, but pale
seed require a compost that is only just moist. Cover the
containers with glass or put them in a propagator and keep at
around 15 C (59 F). When the seedlings appear transfer them to
a cold frame. Pinch out the growing tips when the plants are
about 10 cm (4 inches) high
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- Shrub roses and ramblers can easily be
propagated from stem cuttings at this time of year. Take a
length of stem about 30cm (12 inches) long and trim it off
just below the bottom leaf. Remove the soft tip just above a
root joint. Take off all but the top two or three leaves and
push the cuttings into a well dug trench in the garden to
about half their length. They should be left for 12 months to
root and develop
- If rambler and climbing roses have got a
bit out of hand, spend a bit of time tying them in
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- Aerate the lawn with a fork or special
tool then apply J Arthur Bower's Autumn Lawn Food to nourish
your lawn through the winter months
- You can continue to re-seed bare patches
on your lawn. It's also a good time of year to prepare the
ground for sowing a new lawn, while the earth is still warm
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- Bring in cacti and houseplants that have
spent the summer out of doors
- Continue to take cuttings of tender
perennials
- Buy prepared bulbs for Christmas
flowering and plant them in bowls of J Arthur Bower's Bulb
Fibre. The added charcoal will keep the compost sweet even if
the container has no drainage holes, but make sure you don't
saturate it
- If you have kept indoor cyclamen plants
from last winter you should now start watering them. Water
from the bottom by standing them in a shallow tray and allow
to drain thoroughly.
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- Your summer bedding will probably still
be looking so good that you can't bear to throw it out yet.
Keep them going until they look tired. Remember that you can
overwinter many tender plants. Take them out of their pots and
brush off most of the old compost so that you can trim back
the roots. Also trim the top growth. Then place them in a tray
with some damp, bot not saturated, J Arthur Bower's peat
covering the roots and store them in a frost-free place
- When planting daffodils in containers
it's worth planting two layers of bulbs, slightly staggered
one above the other. This will ensure a spectacular display.
Plant the bulbs deeply enough to allow you to plant winter and
spring bedding, such as winter pansies, primroses, polyanthus
and wallflowers on top
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- Sweetcorn will be ready to harvest when
the silks have turned from golden to brown. For the sweetest
taste, cook them within minutes of cutting
- Ripe onions should be lifted carefully
and laid out to dry before storing
- Continue to harvest runner beans and
courgettes. Make sure you don't leave runner and French beans
too long otherwise they will be stringy and tough
- If you're sowing out of doors this month
you can speed up germination by putting a cloche over the
seeds
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- Parsley can be sown now for an early
spring crop
- Tidy up your herb garden by dead-heading
and trimming back perennials and discarding annuals
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- Cover autumn-fruiting blackberries and
raspberries with netting to keep off the birds, but check
daily to ensure no animals or birds get trapped
- Pick early varieties of apples as soon as
they're ripe and eat them – they won't keep1
- If you want to obtain new fruit trees
send off for some specialist catalogues. You'll get a far
wider choice that way
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- Continue to feed fish
- Clear decaying foliage from waterlilies
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- Tidy up your alpine plants for the
winter, making sure they're all firmly settled into the
ground. Renew top dressings of Silvaperl Coarse Grit
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NEED MORE HELP?
Look at our information pages. The aim is to
cut out the mystique that surrounds many common tasks, and to
explain in a simple way, why and how to do them. This way, we hope
to help you enjoy your garden more, and get the best out of it.
Under each topic, you'll also find a guide
to the wide range of J Arthur Bower's products available to help
you with that particular task. The choice is yours.
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