• Northwest, and Northern
  California Gardens
• Southwest, Desert &
  Southern Cal Gardens
• Northeast, Midwest &
  Central Plains Gardens
• Southeast &
  Mid-Atlantic Gardens
• Rocky Moutains &
  California Mtn Gardens
• Tropical &
  Sub-Tropical Gardens

Gardening Tips for September

Tropical and Sub-Tropical Gardens

• Take the time to prepare your landscape for possible storms. The Atlantic hurricane season is winding up for its most active period. While creating your written storm plan for your family, include plans for the garden: Decide who will move the outdoor furniture, hoses, planted containers, hanging baskets and grill, including where these garden tools and accessories will be stored for riding out the wind.
• Plant a few species of night-bloomers in the garden to delight the senses with exotic perfumes. Some of the best plants for wonderful evening fragrance include angel's trumpet, queen-of-the-night, moonflower, flowering tobacco and four o'clocks.
  • Angel's trumpet offers trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of red, peach, pink, white and yellow ­ but guard against anyone eating this poisonous plant!
  • Queen-of-the-night is a widely adapted, treelike cactus with greenish-white, tubular flowers that remain open until the early morning hours.
  • Moonflower is a heat-loving, tropical perennial vine with large, white blooms and heart-shaped leaves.
  • Flowering tobacco features green, white, pink, rose or red blooms, depending on the cultivar.
  • Four o'clocks is a large, bushy perennial with fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers in mixed shades of yellow, red, pink, magenta or white.
• Fertilize the lawn in late September or October. Most Southern grasses can be fertilized in September - the one exception is centipede grass, which should not be fertilized after Sept. 1 to avoid cold damage. Use a slow-release product with a low phosphorous content. (A phosphorous number between 1-3 percent is a good choice.) The key fertilizer element for fall and winter is potassium, which gives plants more resistance to cold injury. Also look for a product with trace elements including iron, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc.
• Make your own compost! Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of garden waste sent to the local landfill and to recycle nutrients back into the soil for better plant growth. Homemade compost can be made simply with a pile at the back of the yard or with a homemade bin. (Store-bought compost bins are also available.)
• Keep up with weeds in the landscape and lawn! Certain weeds, like chamberbitter or sandspur, can be found growing in flower beds. It's best to manage weeds by pulling these unwanted plants by hand and throwing them in the trash (not the compost pile). This helps reduce the amount of weed seeds for next year.
• Think ahead for the late fall and winter vegetable garden. Early September is an excellent time to plant vegetable seeds. Think lettuce, peas, broccoli - and more! Select varieties adapted for your area for best growth and pest resistance. A little shade - particularly during the hottest part of the day - is a good thing for tender young seedlings.
• When you harvest herbs, let some of your plants go to seed. When the pods are fully "ripe" and dry on the plant, harvest the seed and store it in a cool, dry place until you're ready to plant the next crop. (Be sure to dry part of your herb crop now to enjoy through winter.)
• Start annual seed now - like celosia, zinnias, sunflowers, coleus and other plants that bloom in late fall through winter - so they can be transplanted to the garden later next month. Another option: direct-sow the seed in the garden; it'll germinate and grow right where you sow it.

• Add some upcoming new garden interest and plant flowering bulbs. Amaryllis, crinum and calla lilies, gladiolas and other bulbs can be planted now.
• Lift, divide and reset bulbs that have grown too large and are crowding their existing space.
• Plant strawberries in the garden! Choose a sunny location where the soil is fertile and well-drained. Even better: Build a raised planting bed for your new crop - it's easier for planting and harvesting!
• Create some privacy for your property. After a long summer of open views to your neighbor's back yard, now could be the ideal time to create a privacy screen so you and your family can enjoy an isolated outdoor space during the cooler days of fall.
• Come to The Garden Party and share your gardening adventures and ideas with other green thumbs in your region, as well as nationwide. Post pictures of your garden, write a blog, or ask expert gardeners for more help, tips or suggestions on how to enhance your outdoor living experience.