September Gardening Tips and Snips

Ideal Plants for this Autumn
Autumn is a great time in the garden; the natural time for planting trees, shrubs, herbaceous, perennials, roses and climbers. To help them off to a good start in your garden, dig in plenty of compost or other soil improver, not forgetting to add a slow release fertiliser such as bonemeal which will encourage healthy root growth for lively and flourishing plants this autumn.

Autumn Bulbs Season
September is now the time to buy spring flowering bulbs such as Daffodils, Tulips and Crocus. Buying your bulbs now ensures you get the best possible choice while we still have plenty in stock for you to choose from and also the best quality, as old bulbs can deteriorate causing them to not flower in spring or worse, rot away over winter. As with shrubs and other plants, bulbs will appreciate a slow release fertiliser too, so when spring arrives they are well established and bring plenty of colours to your garden.

Bulbs Display for Christmas
Prepared hyacinths and indoor Narcissus should be planted now for great indoor displays for Christmas. Plant prepared hyacinths in shallow pots or bowls leaving the neck of the bulb above the compost. Place the bowl in a dark and cool place such as a garden shed or outbuilding for 10-14 weeks. Once they have started to grow flower buds they can then be moved into the house where they will flower in time for Christmas (cooler rooms allows the flowers to last longer).

Winter Tubs and Baskets
There are plenty of winter colour plants available for brightening up pots and hanging baskets during the winter months. Ivy can be used to trail over the edge of pots whilst winter-flowering pansies, primulas and hardy cyclamen are great for adding colour and life to your garden. It is also an idea to plant bulbs into your tubs and baskets and early spring flowering plants  too such as primulas and polyanthus to extend your displays all the way through to spring. Winter baskets will also require a dense lining to protect the plant roots from freezing in the cooler weather and remember to keep clay or ceramic pots raised off the ground to prevent them from cracking. During the winter you also need to consider where abouts you will be planting in your garden, thinking about the sunny and shaded areas. Conifers, lavender, grasses and bedding plants are ideal for sunny spots and in the shady corners, snowdrops, hardy cyclamen, winter aconites, holly and ivy will provide plenty of colour and excitement throughout the winter.

Indoor plants
Many of the popular houseplants need less water once summer is over and also less feed. Indoor plants that have spent the summer outdoors should be brought inside now before a cold night damages them and feed with a high potash liquid fertiliser if you have autumn and winter flowering house plants. Particularly when the weather is colder, the cooler weather can be felt through windows so be sure to position your plants away from the windowsills and into the middle of the room to help prevent any possible damage.

 

Propagate Bedding Plants
During autumn cuttings can be taken from half-hardy bedding plants such as fuchsias, geraniums osteospermums and marguerites. These small plants can then be overwintered in a cool greenhouse ready to produce large flowering plants next year. Taking cuttings is easy; simply cut a stem below a leaf, about 4 – 6 inches tall and remove the lower half of the leaves. Dip the cutting into some hormone rooting powder and plant into a gritty compost and water gently. Once they have had time to drain excess water, either place in a propagator or seal in a plastic bag to retain the humidity and leave to root in a shaded part of the greenhouse or windowsill.

Lawns in Autumn
During the season lawns build up a layer of dead grass, moss and other debris which chokes the grass and starves it of air and nutrients. This ‘thatch’ is easily removed with a spring-tine rake or a powered scarifier. To ease compact lawns, use a hollow tine aerator or garden fork and add a lawn dressing and autumn lawn food that preferably contains weed, feed and moss killer. If you have bare patches on your lawn, spreading lawn seed over the area will quickly get rid of these patches and you will soon have an allover luscious looking grass. Early Autumn is also the ideal time to create a new lawn. A few weeks prior to sowing, you should weed and dig the area and tread over the soil to remove any soft spots and rake until level. Add a thin sprinkling of granular fertiliser to the soil and rake again to mix lightly. Sow your chosen grass seed over the area and rake a thin layer of soil over the seed and then always ensure it is well watered. You will also need to keep it protected it from birds and cats.
In the Orchard
During the late autumn the wingless winter moths climb the trunks of trees, but if you simply apply grease bands around the trunks it will ward these pests off and reduce damage to your fruit next season. Once all the leaves have dropped off, rake them up and destroy them to prevent any disease or pests from over wintering. Spray with winter wash or for peaches and nectarines spray with Dithane 945 or a copper fungicide to help prevent peach leaf curl next spring.
Autumn Clean up
Before the cold weather sets in give your garden a good tidy up. Rake up leaves, pull out old bedding plants and cut back herbaceous plants that have finished. You can even clean up the patio by spraying it with Algon which will slowly remove the green and leave you with a sparkling patio. Most garden rubbish can be composted except perennial weeds and diseased plants. The compost will break down steadily during the winter, especially if turned a couple of times and will create perfect compost for your beds and borders next year.
In the Greenhouse
Once your tomatoes and other greenhouse crops have finished, clean out your greenhouse ready to overwinter the tender bedding plants by cleaning with Jeyes fluid. Use bubble wrap to double-glaze and insulate your greenhouse which will help overwintering plants and lower fuel bills. Frost guard fleece can be used over plants during winter which will give plants a couple of degrees extra protection. Don’t forget to check your chosen greenhouse heater still works before the cold weather appears!

Bedding Plants
Autumn is the ideal time to plant wallflowers, bellis and forget-me-not plants which will settle in and flower in early spring. Of course add a few spring flowering bulbs to extend the show of colour. Try sowing seeds of hardy annuals such as Californian poppies, godetia, and larkspurs for extra colour next summer. Hardy annuals are easy to sow; simply weed the soil and rake to a fine tilth and sow thinly over the area.

Plants of the Month
There are many colourful plants to choose from for autumn colour. Use low growing plants such as ericas, cyclamen and winter flowering pansies or taller shrubs such as hydrangeas, potentillas, or perennials such as aster, echinacea, phlox, rudbeckias and hardy chrysanthemums. There are many plants which produce great autumn foliage colours and berries such as acer, liquidamber and crab apples trees.

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1. August Gardening Tips and Snips
2. May Gardening Tips and Snips
3. April Gardening Tips and Snips
4. June Gardening Tips and Snips
5. February Gardening Tips and Snips