Flower Garden in September - Hints and Tips

September brings a cooler feel to the air and damp early mornings. There is still plenty of colour in the flower garden and plenty to do. It is tempting to cut down perennials as soon as they finish flowering but do not be too tidy, there are insects and creatures that need a bit of protection to get through the winter months.

Sweet Peas

Instead of sowing your sweet peas next spring why not sow them now in a cold frame or the greenhouse and you will get early summer blooms next year.

Perennials

September is a good time to plant new perennials. The soil is still warm and moisture levels are increasing. Planting in September gives them time for them to get establish before the real cold weather comes along.

Dahlias

Wait for the first frosts to blacken the foliage of dahlias before lifting the tubers. Turn the tubers upside down to dry them off before storing. Alternatively in warmer areas you may get away with leaving them in the ground. As a precaution cover the crowns with a protective layer of straw or bracken. This is the method I have used for the past few years. I also have dahlias that I grow in tubs and I cover the tubs with plastic sheeting to keep the soil dry, keeping the polythene off the soil and slightly raised in the centre to repel rain by placing some broken up pieces of polystyrene on the compost. Remember, it is usually a combination of wet and cold that kills off things like dahlias.

Hanging Baskets

Keep your hanging baskets going as long as possible by deadheading, watering and feeding. Once the baskets and containers are past their best, why not re-plant as winter/spring hanging baskets with spring-flowering bulbs, winter heathers, trailing ivies and spring-flowering plants.

Deadheading Regime

Keep up your regime of deadheading the likes of Dahlia, Delphinium, Roses (unless you want hips to form) and Penstemon which will the flowering and give colour well into the month.

Lift and Divide

Divide any overgrown or tired looking clumps of herbaceous perennials such as Crocosmia. Flowering should improve next year as a thank you for the trouble you have taken.

Protect Tender Perennials

If you grow tender perennials such as Fuchsia, Gazania, Lantana and Abutilon bring them inside well before any frosts come along and damage your plants.

Spring Flowering Bedding Plants

One of the joys of gardening is that we get the chance to plan a few months ahead to the good times when winter is over. Buy spring flowering bedding plants now such as Bellis, Primula, wallflowers, and violas.

Hardy Annuals

It is possible to sow hardy annuals such as Consolida, Calendula, Centaurea, Limnanthes and poppies in the ground. For those with very heavy clay soil better results will be achieved by sowing under cover in containers or plug trays, this way the seedlings are less likely to rot.

Plant Out

Plant out spring flowering biennials such as Viola, Foxgloves or Wallflowers).

Take Cuttings

If you are like me you cannot resist the temptation to take cutting. Now is a good time to take cuttings of tender perennials such as Pelargonium and Osteospermum.

Staking

Remember that some tall late flowering perennials will need staking to stop them being blown over in the wind.

Collect Seed

Collect and store seed from perennials still forming seed heads.

Bulbs

Try to plant daffodils by mid-September to get the best results next spring. Tulips are best left until November. There are many bulbs to choose from, browse through a catalogue and dream of the colourful spring garden to come.

Weeds

Most perennial weeds are vulnerable to weed killer in early autumn. Applying a product containing glyphosate will ensure that the roots as well as the top growth are killed.

Not found what you are looking for?

Custom Search