Sept. Gardening — Part Three

Just when you think you’ve got all the gardening chores done, there comes along a few more interesting and even essential ones to consider. Here are some of them.

You may be tempted to plant a bed of pansies or violas this month. Though garden centers often have these available in September, it is too early to plant them due to the heat. If you have a bed of summer annuals that’s on its last leg, pull out the plants and begin preparing the soil for the cool-season planting, including pansies and violas, that should begin next month.

September is a good time to save seed from some of your favorite annuals and perennials. As the seed pods on impatiens, petunias, cleome, hollyhock, foxglove, coneflowers, Shasta daisies, black-eyed Susan, etc. dry out, collect them and place each in a separate labelled envelope. Then insert several envelopes of these seed in a pint jar. Enclose two tablespoons of dry milk powder in tissue paper, then wrap with a rubber band. Put this in the jar. Tighten the jar lid and place it in your refrigerator. A storage temperature of between 35 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit plus the drying action of the milk powder create a nice environment for keeping the seed viable until the spring.

Just because you can find a particular fruit in the grocery store doesn’t mean it will grow in Georgia. Varieties of fruit that do not grow well in our Georgia climate are: ‘Bing’ cherry-winter temperature swings and late frosts tend to kill sweet cherry blooms; ‘Bartlett’ pear-this variety is highly susceptible to fire blight; currants and gooseberries-these cannot tolerate our high summertime temperatures; pomegranate-these are fairly rare in north Georgia’s cold winter temperatures but may do well in South Georgia.

If you don’t have any perennials that flower in the fall, now is a good time to add some. Try some Joe-Pye Weed, asters, sedums, helianthus, Salvia leucantha (Mexican sage), and chrysanthemums to extend the season.

As mentioned in last week’s article, this month is a crucial time to divide and transplant perennials. Perennials divided and transplanted now have time to develop good new root growth before cold weather slows them down. Dig, divide, and replant bearded irises, daylilies, Shasta daisies, tall phlox, astilbe, baptisia, coreopsis, ferns, rudbeckia, and many others.

When transplanting your divided perennials, minimize transplant shock by cutting back the foliage by one-third to one-half. This will help compensate for the loss of roots.

Some shrubs have colorful fall foliage and fruit. Some of these are: bottlebrush (foliage); chokeberry (fruit); beautyberry (fruit); sweetshrub (foliage); clethra (foliage); fothergilla (foliage); oakleaf hydrangea (foliage); winterberry holly (fruit); crape myrtle (foliage); viburnum (fruit). Consider planting some of these if you are interested in fall color.

Plant container-grown trees this month, but wait until cold weather to plant balled-and-burlapped trees. Wait until spring to fertilize your newly planted trees.

If you want to topdress established trees with an organic material such as mushroom compost or chicken manure, now is the time to do it. Topdressing breaks down over time and feeds the soil. This is also a good time to apply a fresh layer of mulch around trees. Remove the old mulch and apply one to two inches of topdressing and two to three inches of fresh mulch.

September is a time to enjoy the change of seasons and accomplish some things in and around the yard and garden. Enjoy it!

Tim Lewis is a Georgia Green Industry Association Certified Plant Professional, gardening writer, and former Perry High School horticulture instructor. He and his wife, Susan, own and operate Lewis Farms Nursery located on Georgia Hwy 26 two miles east of Elko, where he was born and raised. He can be reached at (478)954-1507 and timlewis1@windstream.net.

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