Things to do in your garden in September.
Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington, Master Gardener Emeritus
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario
Please contact John for more information!
September Garden Tips:
- WOW! What a summer, so hot and dry!! Water, water, water whenever you can!
- Trim back perennials like Daylilies and Iris. My mother always cut the iris fans up one side and down the other for a perfect V. But she was a picky gardener. Divide them now as needed.
- Make sure it’s a cool, cloudy day to divide and replant anything, or to pot up plants for your neighbours, or for fall plant sales or plant exchanges.
- Fall is the ideal time to divide and plant Iris, Daylilies, Peonies and many other perennials. Share extra plants with neighbours. To see my YouTube video on dividing and potting up plants, but don’t laugh at the old man groaning, as he divides up and pots his perennials.
- Buy and plant spring-flowering bulbs NOW. Your efforts will be handsomely rewarded next spring. Check out the website www.bulbsrus.com for good deals. Dig the hole a little deeper than the specified depth and add some water to the bottom of the hole, then some soil, mix in a little bonemeal fertilizer or special bulb food. Sprinkle in a little topsoil, set the bulbs in place and back fill the hole. Water well after planting, to start root growth.
- Take a critical look at your garden. Then fill in any gaps that may have developed with new perennials, shrubs and/or evergreens. They will get a huge head-start over plants planted next spring.
- Bring in house plants when the evenings start to cool down. First, give them a thorough spray with insecticidal soap so that there are no unwanted hitchhikers coming into your home.
- Pray for cool nights and hope for fall rains. It’s the ideal time for lawn repair. Dig out weeds, add clean, weed-free topsoil and re-seed. Keep the area moist.
- Fertilize lawns with root-building Fall Fertilizer. Buy the one with a low first number (Nitrogen) and high second and third numbers (Phosphorus & Potash). Don’t use the lawn fertilizer you have left over from the spring, with a high first number (Nitrogen). Save it for early next spring.
- With the heat and lack of rain this summer, deep down it is bone dry. Check the moisture levels 14 to 16 inches deep. If the bottom of the hole is dry, water your gardens weekly and deeply until frost. Buy a soaker and put it on the end of your hose. Then place it in the middle of your relatively flat garden beds and let the water slowly seep in.
- Look for the annual Grey County Master Gardener’s fall plant sale, for a wide variety of top flight perennials, Saturday September 14 from 9am until noon. Again, this year, it’s in Meaford, at the Rotary Pavilion at the Harbor. Choose from unique perennials and lots of native and pollinator plants at reasonable prices. Come early for best selection!
John Hethrington,
Master Gardener Emeritus,
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario
Beaver Valley Probus Club