September is here, but that doesn’t mean that the season is over. In fact, now that hot weather is settling down, it’s the perfect time to get some things done in the garden. Here’s our quick list of September garden tasks:
September Garden Tasks
Plant At the risk of sounding like a broken record- fall is for planting! The weather is mild and you should have ideas of what did and didn’t work in the garden. This is a great time to consider perennial beds and fill in gaps in bloom time and color. If you need height or structure, trees and shrubs do beautifully planted at this time.
It’s time to start planning for bulbs, too! Get your beds prepared and amended with bone meal to give your bulbs the best start.
Refresh Summer containers and annual beds might be ready for a refresh. Fall annuals like kale, mums, and grasses extend the season into fall. Consider using perennials like coral bells, sedum, or geranium in fall containers and to dress up borders- many perennials color up beautifully in fall and withstand frosts.
Weed A round of thorough weeding right now will help you get ahead of the game next year. Get creeping weeds pulled out and remove any other weeds that have popped up before they set seed. Pulling one weed now prevents hundreds in the future!
Water Keep watering newly installed plants until the ground freezes. Proper watering going into fall is your best friend when it comes to happy plants in spring.
Protect Apply tree wraps to the trunks of young trees and fruit trees to protect them from animal damage, frost cracking, and sun scald. Assess shrubs for potential damage as well and protect accordingly- hungry deer and rabbits can do a number on a new shrub.
Evergreens planted late in the season benefit from protection like a snow fence or burlap wrap- wait to wrap them until the weather gets cold, but start planning now.
Bring in tender tropicals and houseplants before nighttime temps drop below 50 degrees. Wash them off with strong jet of water and treat for insects as needed. Dig up and store bulbs and tubers of cannas, gladiolus, elephant ear, etc. after the foliage has been touched by a hard frost.
Not Yet Hold off on pruning for a few more months or until spring. It’s best to let your plants wind down, drop their leaves, and go to sleep before you do any cutting. There’s plenty to do in the meantime!
Looking for fall color ideas? Here are some of our favorite fall color perennials, shrubs, and trees.
