Gardening Tips for September by David Barkley (September 2005)

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Everyone wants to know the best time to move plants or to plant themÉ the best time is the Fall Season. You still have time to put in a fall garden for some of your cool season crops this month.

Autumn Color Ideas:

Be on the look out for Chrysanthemums to purchase to add color to your landscape. Mums and pansies will brighten up the landscape as many of the annuals start to fade for the season. Mums have a short flowering period while pansies will last through the winter into next early summer. Take cuttings of the annuals you wish to have starts from next spring. Root the cuttings in water or in a prepared bed that will be protected from frost. Keep indoors until you can plant them safely outside next spring.

To add more color to your outdoor landscape try planting Ginkgo trees for their brilliant fall yellow color. Among other good choices, Red Maples, Sugar Maples, Japanese Maples, Sourwood, and Redbuds will add nicely to your fall foliage color scheme. As autumn merges into winter you will want to accent the landscape with berry color from such plants as pyracantha, nandina, viburnum, beautyberry, and many of the holly group. And who can forget the spectacular burning bush euonymus in its glory with a blazing red color? Contrast all these fine examples with the steady greens and blue greens of the conifers and your landscape should really stand out as a fine garden for you and your friends to enjoy.

Buy bulbs now to get the best and largest bulbs, with less bruising and handling injuries, and keep them until the appropriate time to plant. Coastal bulb plantings are best in late November and December.

Garden Bullets Worth Dispersing:

• Do not fertilize your shrubs and trees at this time.
• Also do not fertilize your perennials - let them go dormant.
• Keep plants watered according to their needs...September can be extremely dry or wet depending on the tropical storms that make landfall in North Carolina.
• Remember to put out the pre-emergence weed control products to control the winter annual weeds.
• You may overseed warm season grasses with ryegrass now except for centipedegrass lawns.
• Test your soil to determine how much lime and fertilizer you need.
• Light pruning only for most shrubs and trees. Always remove dead and diseased tissue promptly. You do not want to stimulate new growth for most ornamentals by excessive pruning or fertilizing at this time. Let the plants go dormant naturally.

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