Seasonal Gardening Calendar

September

Muscadines are perfect right now, just make sure you don’t eat the skin or seeds! It is also time for the fist application of fertilizer on Fescue lawns.

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  • SEPTEMBER Week 1

    Fertilize annuals

    Fertilize salvia and chrysanthemums with liquid plant food. They will reward you with lots of blooms later this fall.

    See Fertilizing Annuals.

    Deadhead perennials

    Examine your flower beds for tired out perennials like Shasta daisy, black-eyed Susan and purple coneflower. You can cut off dead flowers and brown foliage to neaten the plants for fall.

    See Deadheading

    Save excess basil

    Preserve excess basil leaves by pureeing in a blender with a little water. Freeze the slush in an ice tray and use the cubes in your wintertime spaghetti sauce.

    See Growing Basil

    Trim hibiscus

    Lightly trim back the tropical hibiscus you kept outdoors for the summer. Make plans for where you’ll place it indoors in bright light.

    See Tropical Hibiscus – Bringing Indoors

    Divide daylily, iris and monkey grass

    Divide daylily, iris and monkey grass while you still have several weeks of warm weather to encourage root growth.

    See Dividing Siberian Iris

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  • SEPTEMBER Week 2

    Spray broadleaf weeds

    Spot spray the broadleaf weeds in your lawn with a herbicide labeled for their control.

    See Mimosa Weed Control

    Try a muscadine

    You can’t live in the South without trying a muscadine: Pop it in your mouth, suck the pulp out of the skin, enjoy the juice, then spit out the skin and seeds. What a delicious mess!

    See Growing Muscadines

    Plant peony

    It’s a great time to plant peony roots. A good, old-time favorite is ‘Festiva Maxima’. For real excitement, plant a tree peony and get huge blooms next May.

    See Growing Peony in the South

    Prep for fescue planting

    Before planting fescue seed, wipe out weeds with a fast-acting but short-lived weed killer. Use glyphosate (Roundup, etc) now; you can seed in seven days.

    See Planting Fescue in an Existing Lawn

    Fertilize bermuda

    Bermuda lawns sometimes, but not always, benefit from a “winterizer” fertilizer application. Do it now when growth has slowed but before frost turns the grass brown.

    See Fertilizing Bermuda Lawns

    Apply pre-emergent

    Did chickweed and annual bluegrass run rampant in your lawn last spring? Now’s the time to put out a pre-emergent weed preventer on lawns you’ll not overseed this fall.

    See Timing Pre-emergent Application

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  • SEPTEMBER Week 3

    Buy bulbs on sale

    Spring-flowering bulbs are on sale now. You can buy them – but don’t put them in the ground until soil temperatures are in the 60’s or cooler in early October.

    See When to Plant Spring-flowering Bulbs

    Plant cool season veggies

    Time to plant cool season vegetable seedlings. Broccoli, collards and cabbage plants should be available at garden centers.

    See Vegetable Planting Schedule

    Avoid saddleback caterpillars

    Watch out for saddleback caterpillars feeding on the leaves of trees and weeds. Their poisonous bristles can leave a nasty welt on your skin.

    See Saddleback Caterpillars

    Check patio plants

    Examine patio plants for insects if you intend to bring them indoors. Treat with insecticide if necessary.

    See Insects on Patio Plants

    Fertilize fescue

    Time for the first application of fertilizer on fescue grass. This cool season turf needs fertilizer in September, November, February and April.

    See Fertilizing Fescue

     

  • SEPTEMBER Week 4

    Plant shrubs and trees

    Cooler weather means it’s time to plant shrubs and trees. Make sure to dig a hole three times as wide as the root ball.

    See Planting Shrubs

    Propagate hydrangeas

    Propagate limber-limbed hydrangea, grape and forsythia plants by placing a thin branch on the ground and partially covering it with soil and a brick.

    See Soil Layering

    Plant fescue

    Planting a new fescue lawn? Use 6 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet.

    See Planting a New Fescue Lawn

    Replace mulch under roses

    Replace all of the mulch under roses, red tip photinia and crabapples. You’ll prevent diseases on next year’s leaves.

    See Reusing Mulch

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