September 2025

Flowers   

Keep Azaleas and Rhododendron well watered as bud initiation is now taking place and watering if conditions are dry will ensure a good amount of flowers next Spring. Plant new hardy herbaceous perennial plants now and divide established clumps. This job, if done now, will enable the plants to get established before the onset of winter with cold and wet soil conditions.

Stop feeding hardy plants now. Clear away spent summer bedding plants. Prepare soil ready for winter bedding plants and plant up spring bulbs except Tulips which should be left for another six weeks. Hardy Annuals can be sown now, such as Calendula Officinalis to over-winter to give earlier flowers next year.

Plant prepared Hyacinths for Christmas flowering in bowls or pots using multi-purpose compost or bulb fibre. Keep in a cool dark place until the buds can be quite easily seen.

Vegetables 

Plant out Spring Cabbage as soon as possible if not already done. Plant Onion set varieties, which are suitable for over-wintering. Harvest maincrop Potatoes for storing for winter use. Only store sound tubers, any which are showing any signs of damage should be used immediately.

Fruit  

Speed ripen outdoor grown Tomatoes by layering plants on straw and cover with cloches. Alternatively hang upside down in a cool shed after removing all the leaves. Continue to pick Autumn Raspberries as they become available. Also continue to harvest Apples and Pear as they ripen. Black scabby marks, distortion and cracking on Apples and Pears is a sure sign of scab disease. Make a note now to spray trees while in the dormant stage next December or January.

Lawns 

Autumn maintenance of the lawn can start this month by scarifying, aerating and re-sowing bare patches. Now is an ideal time to sow grass seed or lay turf for new lawns if soil conditions are moist.

Pests and Diseases 

Clumps of honey coloured toadstools at the base of shrubs and trees is a possible sign of Honey Fungus disease. Orange raised pustules on leaves is a sign of Rust disease which is very prevalent this year. Remember to rake up and dispose of all leaves to prevent infection from over wintering ready to re-infect plants next year. Do not compost any diseased plant material.

TOPICAL TIPS

Net ponds before leaf fall to prevent a build-up of decaying matter in the pond over the coming months.

Clean bird baths and feeding stations with mild disinfectant to help control the spread of diseases. Migration will soon be taking place and many of the birds which have been resident for the summer months will disappear and the winter visitors will make a return to mingle with our native resident all year round birds.