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Southeast Gardener's September Checklist
Fertilize strawberries, plant a tree or two and beckon hummingbirds to your Southern garden this month
Houzz contributor Helen Yoest digs gardens. Author of Gardening With Confidence® 50 Ways to add style for personal creativity. Helen is an award winning garden writer and a frequent contributor to Country Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, Carolina Gardening, and Triangle Gardener. Helen scouts and styles gardens throughout the south.
Houzz contributor Helen Yoest digs gardens. Author of Gardening With Confidence®... More »
With the dog days of summer behind us, September opens with cooler air, creating a fresh scent and a sense of excitement. The source of this excitement may be no other reason than the weather being bearable enough to spend time outdoors once again.
Reds dominate. Yellows generate. Purples empower. Grasses sway, with flowers as flags. Finches steady themselves as they feed on seeds. Box turtles mosey around the tomatoes, eating what the birds or deer knocked to the ground. Life abounds. September was made for sitting on the patio to watch in wonder.
Reds dominate. Yellows generate. Purples empower. Grasses sway, with flowers as flags. Finches steady themselves as they feed on seeds. Box turtles mosey around the tomatoes, eating what the birds or deer knocked to the ground. Life abounds. September was made for sitting on the patio to watch in wonder.
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Strawberry needs. If you didn’t fertilize your strawberries in August, do so in September. For plants that were planted this past spring, apply 4 to 6 ounces of ammonium nitrate (33 percent nitrogen) or 12 to 18 ounces of 10-10-10 for every 25 feet of a row.
For plants in their second year of growth, increase the application rate to 6 to 8 ounces of ammonium nitrate or 18 to 24 ounces of 10-10-10 for every 25 feet of row.
Spread the fertilizer uniformly in a band over the row, about 14 inches wide. Apply when the foliage is dry. Brush the fertilizer off the leaves to avoid leaf burn.
In cases such as mine, where the strawberries aren’t planted in rows but rather as a garden border, simply estimate the square footage and apply the equivalent amount of fertilizer. My strawberry edge is 2 1/2 feet wide by 10 feet long, which is equivalent to 25 feet of rows.
For plants in their second year of growth, increase the application rate to 6 to 8 ounces of ammonium nitrate or 18 to 24 ounces of 10-10-10 for every 25 feet of row.
Spread the fertilizer uniformly in a band over the row, about 14 inches wide. Apply when the foliage is dry. Brush the fertilizer off the leaves to avoid leaf burn.
In cases such as mine, where the strawberries aren’t planted in rows but rather as a garden border, simply estimate the square footage and apply the equivalent amount of fertilizer. My strawberry edge is 2 1/2 feet wide by 10 feet long, which is equivalent to 25 feet of rows.
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September (and August) is when the cell size of next spring's strawberry buds is determined. The more favorable the growing conditions your strawberries receive now, the bigger the berries will be next year.
Ensure that your strawberries get 1 inch of water each week. If nature doesn’t provide this, then plan to supplement with water from the spigot, well or rain harvester.
Ensure that your strawberries get 1 inch of water each week. If nature doesn’t provide this, then plan to supplement with water from the spigot, well or rain harvester.
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Wait to prune shrubs. Resist the urge to prune shrubs that seem overgrown after a long summer showing. It’s best to wait until late spring to prune, just before the next growing season begins.
Pruning now could stimulate new growth that would be too tender to survive an early deep freeze. You may also be cutting off next spring’s blooms, such as azaleas and camellias.
Pruning now could stimulate new growth that would be too tender to survive an early deep freeze. You may also be cutting off next spring’s blooms, such as azaleas and camellias.
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Prune roses. Fear of cutting next year’s bloom is not a worry with roses, but it’s still best to wait until March.
Knock Out roses can be pruned almost any time, though, particularly when you want to shape the shrub. All types of roses benefit from removal of diseased canes and foliage in any season.
Knock Out roses can be pruned almost any time, though, particularly when you want to shape the shrub. All types of roses benefit from removal of diseased canes and foliage in any season.
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| Fall planting. October is a great time to plant or move a tree or shrub. To look for one that will do well in your area, visit your local garden center this month while the selection is at its peak. Remember to dig a planting hole no deeper than the root ball height, and excavate the hole two to three times the width of the root ball diameter. |
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| Lawns. The first two weeks in September are the best times to reseed cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue or Turf-Type Fescue. Also, our Southern gardens will benefit from a core aeration. |
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Feed hummingbirds. Hummingbird feeders aren’t necessary if you have enough plants to feed these visitors, but they are a great way to ensure you have a consistent food source for the hummers. You can place the feeder in a location that is easy to see from your favorite chair, inside or out.
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Make your own hummingbird nectar. Making sugar water nectar to fill your feeder is easy to do and takes less than a minute. Boil four parts water with one part sugar. As soon as the sugar dissolves, reduce the heat.
Let the sugar-water mixture cool, and then fill the feeder. Store any remaining nectar in the refrigerator for up to a week. When temperatures are hot, greater than 86º F, change the nectar water daily.
Let the sugar-water mixture cool, and then fill the feeder. Store any remaining nectar in the refrigerator for up to a week. When temperatures are hot, greater than 86º F, change the nectar water daily.
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| Weeds. There never seems to be just one weed; they come in multiples and like to hang in gangs. There are the sedges, the spurges, the grasses and the oxalis. There are too just many to mention and still hope for a happy day. Stay ahead of your weeds. if you have a problem with poa annua, annual blue grass, as I do in my Raleigh garden, now (early September) is the time to use a pre-emergent such as corn gluten. See more ways to combat weeds |
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Pests. If you find fall webworms in your trees — hickory, walnut, birch, cherry and crabapple, to name a few — pull them out and dump the caterpillars into a bucket of soapy water. This is a good control measure for those nests within reach.
For those nests that aren’t within reach, you may have to resort to spraying. Control webworms with BTK (Bacillus thuringiensis). Apply just to the affected branches; using BTK as a broad spray will harm beneficial insects as well.
More:
Planting guides for your Southeast garden
Browse flowers, plants and garden design ideas
For those nests that aren’t within reach, you may have to resort to spraying. Control webworms with BTK (Bacillus thuringiensis). Apply just to the affected branches; using BTK as a broad spray will harm beneficial insects as well.
More:
Planting guides for your Southeast garden
Browse flowers, plants and garden design ideas
Ideabook published on Aug. 31, 2012.
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