September Gardening Tips

I take most of my cuttings of half hardy perennials and shrubs during September. In the individual plant sections I have detailed how I do this for each type of plant. I like to take cuttings at this time of year as they root relatively easily but do not grow too large so can be kept over winter six or seven in a pot which saves space in what can be a very overcrowded greenhouse. Apart from the featured plants I have also had a lot of success with cuttings of evergreen shrubs (Escallonia, Euonymus, Choisya, Pyracantha) taken in September. I leave these in the coldframe until spring and then pot them up individually. They sometimes take a year to get to a reasonable size but this is not a problem as they just stay in the coldframe and do not require space in the greenhouse.

I prefer to plant shrubs and perennial plants purchased from garden centres in early autumn. There is still some warmth to help them get established but the ground is usually quite wet so they do not require constant watering as they would if planted in mid summer. It is important however to visit the garden centre in the summer to take note of the plants you would like in the garden as if you buy them in September most will not be in full flower.

I cut down on dead heading of plants in September as it is not likely to encourage many more flowers and some seed heads look attractive in the garden and provide food for birds in winter and some self sown seedlings for next year. I still keep up the watering and feeding of hanging baskets and annual tubs as, if you get a relatively warm September, the display from these can continue well into October.

By John Kane.

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