September might be my very favorite month in the garden! The weather is mild without all the drama of springtime fluctuations, the bees are humming along and geese are beginning to head south. The dahlias are typically hitting their stride, and the fall blooming perennials are showing up to add something new to our late season bouquets. It is the best time to soak up the last full month of garden abundance.
If we spend a little extra time in the garden this month next spring becomes easier, here are some tasks to consider.
Outside
Weed. Catching those weeds before they go to seed means you’ll have less to contend with in the spring. It’s also easier when the ground is soft from autumn rain storms.
Deadhead. If I let all my self sowing plants go to town I would have a mess in the spring. I make sure to remove any spent old blooms in areas that I do not want more of that plant. I’ll leave a selective few for reseeding.
Collect seeds. While you are deadheading save some of those ripe seed head to either share or sow in next years garden. Here are some of favorite seeds to collect- Rudbeckia triloba, Silene Blushing Lanterns, Milkweeds, Ammi (Queen Anne’s Lace), Nicandra (Apple of Peru), Bell’s of Ireland, Lovage, Celosia, Zinnia, Cosmos, Chocolate Lace flower. Keep in mind that if harvesting seeds from a hybrid your seeds may not produce the same exact flower next year. I like to buy my hybrid seed new each year so that i have consistent results from my favorite cut flowers.
Divide and transplant mature perennials. Maybe a plant has out grown it’s space, or maybe you just really love it and want more of it for your yard or maybe you just want to move it to a new spot, which ever it is September is one of the best times to dig and divide plants. They are less likely to get heat stressed and if done early enough their roots can settle in before the cold times come.
To do this dig a circle a few inches out from the perimeter of the plant with a shovel or digging fork.
Once you’ve dug all the way around, begin lefting the shovel or fork to prying the plant from the ground, trying to take as much of the roots as possible.
Once the roots are loose, lift the plant out of the hole and take a good look at it. If there are lots of healthy roots you can divide the plant into several sections. Typically the bigger the sections the sooner you’ll get a bigger, blooming plant.
A handy rule is to divide spring and summer blooming plants in the fall, but wait for spring to divide fall bloomers.
Clear out any diseased annuals. Powdery mildew always hits this time of year. The spores overwinter on plant material left in the garden, so the better we clean up the less disease pressure we will hopefully have next year. Cleaning up before the frost hits means the plants are less crumbly and easy to remove in my opinion.
Prep any empty space for next year. Your spring self will thank you! You can also sow some winter kill cover crop. That way it germs and grows until it gets killed by the frost, making a nice mulch for the rest of winter. Some winter killed options, such as oats, field peas, oilseed radish, and mustard can grow late into the fall, enduring several hard frosts. Others, such as buckwheat, Sudan grass, and pearl millet have less frost tolerance and will die off earlier as temperatures drop below freezing.
Rudbeckia Triloba
Inside
Take notes. Write down your observations in your garden journal or a note app in you phone. Did you love a certain variety? Did you realize your irrigation needed adjustments? Did you notice when a pest moved in and that you need to spray eariler next year? Did you run out of filler or focals at a certain time? Write it alllll down! You can spend sometime researching this fall and winter and make a note of adjustments on your calendar for next season.
Prep for any preorders. Snuck Flowers at Snuck Farm opens for preordering of spring seedlings on October 1st. Also some dahlia growers do a preorder for tubers in the fall. Knowing what you’d like to try and how much space you have will help order just what you need.
Double check any bulb or peony orders so you can make sure to prep your spaces before they arrive.
Hang up some extra bunches of flowers for drying. Celosia, gomphrena, statice, and strawflowers are all good flowers to try. Hang them upside in a warm dark space, most garages make an excellent spot.
Seeds to Start
You can direct sow any winter hardy “cool flowers” pretty much anytime now til the ground freezes, they’ll come up when the temps are right for them. I like to fall plant nigella, ammi, larkspur, bells of Ireland, chocolate lace flower, bachelor buttons, agrostemma, and bupleurum.
It’s also a good time to transplant any cool season seedlings like pansies, snapdragons, feverfew.
I hope you enjoy your September in the garden!!