September to do…aka Too Early for Pumpkin Spice

Timing is everything. I know it’s relative and fleeting and flies by too fast and moves on all too slow. But it is still super important and should be regarded with awe. Or something.

Right now, I’m listening to the chorus of a hundred different landscape power tools moving through my neighbor’s garden like tornadoes. And I use that metaphor with all the destruction it implies.

Electric sheers are cutting through next years azalea flowers, raggedly slicing boxwoods so the late summer heat scorches the wounds, and pruning her rosemary within an inch of its life. Ok, that is dramatic. It’s more like 18 inches of its life, but it is still doing it regarding not the hundreds of redbud saplings that need to be pulled (and will eventually choke out this beautiful herb).

Knowing when to prune, plant, harvest, and tend are mysteries I help to ease with these blog entries. (Incidentally, I’m also working with Roots Down, an organization that is retraining landscape companies in the Metro Atlanta area on how to be more sustainable…and knowing when to do what is a big part of that. So hopefully, I can help prevent the massacre that my neighbor’s crew is performing in the future.)

September is a perplexing month for the novice gardener in this region. I know this because I’m a professional and it can be perplexing for us, too. Leaves are starting to change, but not in vast quantities. Perennials are starting to tire, but some are looking better than ever. The weather is hot during the day, but cooling off in the evening (rather than that long drone of oppressive heat and humidity July and August bring). Corporate coffee shops are putting pumpkin spice into everything and trying to convince us we should break out scarves.

I’d say all though there are some things to get done, right now is a time for refocusing and planning. I’m going to add a planning section at the bottom to highlight what you should be thinking about.

Until that moment, though…

General Notes

September can get a little dry. If you are using irrigation, now is a great time to run through all your zones to make sure they are set correctly. We have a client who has a separate irrigation company and after a few visits of seeing plants looking drier than they should, we ran through the schedule and saw HUGE areas were not functioning. Turned out a recent construction job had broken a line. If you are not using irrigation, watch the weather and water accordingly. Plants like hydrangeas, petunias, impatiens, ajuga, and marigolds will also “flag,’ or droop letting you know that they, and most likely their neighbors need water.

Weeding is always a thing here. Right now you want to be on the look out for stiltgrass, chamberbitter, copperleaf, chaffe flower, and amaranths. Get them before they seed.

Perennials

Near the end of the month you may divide flowering perennials (except phlox and shasta daisies).

Continue to deadhead perennials in the mint and bean families. You may also deadhead aster/sunflower family plants if you don’t want to leave the seeds for the birds. Asters and mums should be budding now so you’ll have a good show for fall.

Shrubs

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t prune spring flowering evergreen shrubs like azaleas, camellias, and loropetalum, but considering what just happened across the street, I’m going to restate: do not prune spring flowering evergreen shrubs now.

You can deadhead big leaf hyndrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quircefolia), and Serrated Hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata), as well as take them down for size, now.

It’s tempting to prune Japanese maples now, but don’t. Wait till winter to prune for shape. If you need to prune a Japanese maple for size, consult a professional to move it. It’s in the wrong place.

Roses

Look for evidence of rose worms and leaf cutters. Continue to treat fungal issues with copper or garden sulphur.

Trees

Guess what! You should be still watering new trees under the age of two! Thought I’d forget, didn’t you?

Keep an eye out for tent caterpillars as this is their time. You can either remove the branches that are affected or break open the tent. I personally have never been able to break a tent as I always witness the tents too high up, but several garden buds of mine say it works on smaller trees.

Lawns

Now is the time for doing fescue sod. So those of you waiting can breathe a sigh of relief and get your sod on.

Continue to mow as needed.

Near the end of the month, you can overseed or reseed. Be sure to water water water.

Veggies and Herbs

Tomatoes, eggplants, squash, and cucumbers should be looking pretty tired by now. You may pull the plants as they look bad and replace with short season producers and bush varieties.

OR

Start planting cool season seeds as the plants expire. Carrots, beets, turnips, radish, and rutabaga can be planted by seed now. So can spinach and lettuces. Wait till it gets a little cooler at night for brassicas.

NOTE: make a note, chart, diary/journal entry, or whatever of where you planted things so you can avoid planting the same thing next year. This is called crop rotation and it is super important for disease and pest management.

Collect fennel and dill seeds now for use or replant.

Parsley and cilantro are cool season herbs to consider planting now. Cilantro won’t make it through super cold weather, but it will go until then. Parsley is evergreen and looks wonderful planted with snapdragons and viola/pansies (which are all edible).

Planning

I used to be a messy 20-something. I’m sure I’m alone in that. But I was. I basically lived my life moment to moment and barely planned for anything. Gardening is actually what taught me I had to plan if I want to be successful.

If you want spring bulbs, you should be planning that now and be prepared to plant in October-December. Daffodils, hyacinth, tulip, crocus, alliums…anything that blooms in spring needs to be planned for now. And if you want the good stuff, preorder.

Vegetable gardens are going to need a little assistance during the really cold months of January and February. Now is the time to design, build, or commission cold frames or low tunnels. Low tunnels are an inexpensive and simple way of keeping frost off your cool season crops that don’t like it cold (basically the me of plants. I love cool weather but become useless when it is cold).

If you are going to move woody plants this fall, root prune to make it easier on your back and easier for your plant to establish. Root pruning is a process in which you use a shovel to prune the roots so the plant pushes out root hairs closer to the stem of the plant.

And speaking of woody plants, fall (not spring) is the very best time to plant them. The cooler temps allow the plant to grow underground, establishing quicker and growing stronger. So plan where you need shrubs and trees now. If you need something specific, discuss with a professional so they can get it for you.

It’s a little early to apply pre-emergent weed suppressants, but right on time to plan out how much you will need.

After the fall leaf drop, consider a layer of mulch. It can help with the cool season weeds and keep roots warm for better growth.

The Take Away

Planning is the biggest take away.

Walk around your garden and make notes about what you want to see and what the garden needs in the upcoming rush to put the garden to bed. An action plan will make things so much simpler.

This brief lull makes a great time to explore your work in the garden. Summer is ending, but not over. Bring in some of the late summer blooms. Smell that random rose bloom.

Connect with your garden, because every time you connect to your garden, you’re connecting to nature and a piece of yourself.