September’s lawn and garden To-Do list is long – and important

September is a busy month for gardeners, plant lovers and anyone who has a lawn.  It’s time to prepare for winter.   Here are several things to add to your “to do” list.

If you’re thinking of adding perennials, shrubs or trees to your landscape – September is the perfect time to plant!  Learn more about fall planting here. 

Visit us – your local, family -owned garden center.  Our expert staff will help you pick the perfect tree for your outdoor space. And don’t forget The Full Package to help your new plants develop a healthy root system!     

Plant and Lawn Prep

• Stop pruning and fertilizing your flowering plants.
• About the third week of this month, Poinsettias can be forced into bloom for Christmas if they are moved indoors now to a sunny windowsill. Each night, they must be kept in a cool, dark place where there is no light for 14 hours. This must continue until proper color is achieved in 6-10 weeks.
• Bring summer houseplants back indoors while the windows are still open. Prune back rampant growth and protruding roots.  Houseplants should be brought indoors at least one month before the heat is normally turned on.  Check for pests and treat if necessary. Hi-Yield Systemic Insect Granules is effective in treating pests that are commonly found on houseplants that have summered outdoors.   
•  Start fall clean-up in the flower beds, cutting back anything that has finished blooming or is diseased.  Take cuttings to overwinter indoors.
• Perennials, especially spring bloomers, can be divided now. Enrich the soil with peat moss or compost before replanting.
• Dig and store tender bulbs like: dahlias, caladiums, cannas and tuberous begonias.
• Now is the time to seed your lawn. When putting down new grass seed, be sure to also apply Ferti*Lome New Lawn Starter.  It’s designed to help grass seed and sod develop roots and mature stems before rapid growth begins, and helps sod to establish.  This is a must for new lawns. New Lawn Starter can be applied with grass seed, or immediately after seed is sown.  
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• Fruits and Vegetables

  • Sowing seeds of radish, lettuce, spinach and other greens in a cold frame will prolong fall harvests.
  • Keep broccoli picked regularly to encourage additional production of side shoots.
  • Pinch out the top of Brussels sprout plants to plump out the developing sprouts.
  • Harvest herbs now to freeze or dry for winter use.
  • Tie leaves around cauliflower heads when they are about the size of a golf ball.
  • Pinch off any young tomatoes that are too small to ripen. This will  channel energy into ripening the remaining full-size fruits.  
  • Sow spinach now to overwinter under mulch for spring harvest.
  • Pick pears before they are fully mature. Store in a cool, dark basement to ripen.
  • Bury or discard any spoiled fallen fruits.
  • Paw paws ripen in the woods now.
  • Check all along peach tree trunks to just below soil line for gummy masses caused by borers.Probe holes with thin wire to puncture borers.
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  Yes, September is a busy month for gardeners lawn and plant lovers, with lots of important items on the To-Do list.  Watch for our next blog post, which will give tips on managing your pond, and provide details on turfgrass and seed mixtures.