JOHNSTON COUNTY HOME HORTICULTURE

September Gardening To-Do

Is this rain ever going to stop? If you can even get out to your yard to work, here are some tasks to focus on for September.

GENERAL IDEAS

Collect soil samples for testing, so that you'll know how much fertilizer and lime to add this fall. Test your lawn, flower beds and vegetable garden. Testing should be done once every 3 years. We have FREE kits.

Clean up and throw away any diseased plant material. Do not throw it in a compost pile. We've had an awful lot of fungus problems this year because of all the rain. Leaving infected plant material on the plants or where it fell on the ground provides a source of re-infection for next year.

LAWN CARE

Tip for fertilizing cool-season (i.e. fescue) lawns: Fertilize on Labor Day, Thanksgiving & Valentine's Day. Fescue lawns are green & growing during the cool months of fall, winter, and spring. Use a slow-release fertilizer.

Plant fescue seed to fill in bare spots or rejuvenate your lawn. The best time to plant fescue seed is Sept. 15 - Oct. 15. Contact us for a publication on lawn care and renovation and get your soil samples in!!

Overseed common bermuda grass lawns with ryegrass in late September - to keep lawn green all year. Autumn Lawn

Control winter weeds with a pre-emergent herbicide applied around mid-September on lawn and shrub plantings.

TREES, SHRUBS & ORNAMENTALS

Prepare plants for dormancy. Plants need time in the fall to slow down & prepare for the winter, so do not apply nitrogen (N) fertilizer or prune after July. Consider applying potassium (K) fertilizers which increase winter hardiness.

Divide spring & summer-blooming perennials - such as daisies, daylilies Daylily

, creeping phlox - that are overgrown. This is an easy way to enlarge your garden without purchasing more plants. Dig the plants, gently separate into smaller clumps & replant immediately. They'll have plenty of time to get re-established before next spring.

Set out cool-weather annuals for winter color. In addition to pansies and ornamental cabbages, other cool-weather ornamentals such as dianthus, snapdragons , dusty-miller, and ornamental sage look great throughout the winter. Wait to plant spring bulbs till chillier fall weather arrives.

VEGETABLES & FRUITS

Start fall vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, collards

, and cole crops to fill in spaces in the vegetable garden.

Collect Japanese Beetles by hand by shaking them into a jar of soapy water. For best results, collect them in the morning, when they're moving slowly.

Mulch Peppers. Be sure to mulch the plants to keep the roots cool and moist. Stake plants if you like, or you can allow them to tumble over onto ground that is covered with a thick blanket of hay, straw, or even newspapers.

LANDSCAPE IDEA

Think ahead to next fall and consider plants that will provide autumn color. Trees such as ginkgo, red maple, southern sugar maple, Japanese maple, sourwood, crape myrtle and tulip poplar have outstanding autumn foliage color. The flowers of Sasanqua camellias and autumn-flowering chrysanthemums contribute much to the colorful autumn scene. Don't forget the brilliant red foliage of rabbiteye blueberries. The berries of pyracantha, nandina, viburnum, beautyberry and many hollies provide bright accents into winter. Look for interesting plants in the nurseries, and add them this fall.

HOUSEPLANTS

Plan to bring houseplants and tropicals indoors when temperatures dip below 50 F.

Move plants into partial shade for a week to condition them to lower light levels indoors.

Prune them, if necessary, to a manageable size. Give them a good bath in soapy water or spray with insecticidal soap to keep insect pests from moving indoors with them.

Give tropical plants as much light as possible once they are indoors.

Thanks to the Durham County Extension Office and 'Successful Gardener' for their generous contributions to this list.

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