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September 2007 >>>
Perception has it that because the children are going back to school after the long summer break it must be autumn. But the great British climate is there to fool us gardeners again. Over the last decade, 9 out of 10 Septembers have been drier and sunnier than the long term average and much warmer than expected. Predicting the weather for the rest of 2007 is a fool's game, but it's worth baring in mind this climate change phenomenon when planning your gardening activity.
PATIO GARDENING
However much rainfall there is in your particular area, your patio planters and hanging baskets will need to be watered regularly if the compost is to be thoroughly moist all the way through. Use a hose or watering can to provide enough water to flow right through the drainage holes of the container into the saucer below. If you find this a difficult job then you've probably filled the container too full of compost and the watering space between the surface of the compost and the rim of the container is not big enough. It's worth remembering next year that leaving a gap of 5cm (2in) for watering makes the job much easier.
Plants that should still be flowering their heads off include busy lizzies, geraniums, trailing ivy-leaved pelargoniums, petunias and verbena. I saw this summer a growing trial of about 30 newish varieties of verbena at the RHS gardens at Wisley and was impressed by the early colour and multitude of flowers on many of the varieties. The varieties were grown from rooted cutting plugs and planted in large pots and hanging baskets. Early in the growing trial the varieties that stood out for me were Donelena Dark Blue, Donelena Purple Velvet and Rapunzel Violet 06. The RHS will be judging the long term flowering ability of these verbenas and will be awarding points for colour, amount of flower, self-cleaning and strength of growth. We look forward to seeing the final results.
Some of your bedding plants growing in containers may well have already stopped flowering. Plants which tend to stop flowering early are those that produce few side shoots which include salvias, schizanthus and mimulus. When flowering has finished these plants should be turfed out and replaced with winter flowering pansies and other young plants.
Remember that flowering plants will need some nutrients if they are to continue to bloom until the first frost. If September is warm, then feed all your patio pots and hanging baskets at least weekly with a diluted Miracle-Gro Plant Food. The quickest and easiest way is to water and feed your patio plants by fitting a Miracle-Gro Liquafeed system to the end of your hose. This will deliver plain water or diluted liquid plant food in three different spray settings of shower, flat or jet.
TOPICAL TIP
Your local garden centre is sure to have in stock specially planted hanging baskets and patio pots full of autumn decorative plants such as ornamental cabbages, pansies, ericas and such like. They will provide inspiration for your own planting or ready-made decorations for your front door or patio.
SHRUBS AND TREES
Autumn flowering shrubs such as the blue-flowering Ceratostigma and Caryopteris should be in bloom alongside Hebe 'Autumn Glory' and all manner of Hibiscus. To encourage strong growth of these shrubs feed them through the leaf and around the roots with a soluble plant food. Hibiscus and other acid-loving plants appreciate Miracle-Gro Ericaceous Plant Food, while most other shrubs will thrive on a weekly dose of Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food.
Towards the end of the month we will all be blessed with an increase in rainfall and most soils will gradually return to the moist norm of autumn. When the soil is warm and moist this is a great time to plant new shrubs and trees as the conditions encourage quick establishment of new plantings. Take a look around the garden to see where a new shrub or tree would make a big difference. If you are looking for easy maintenance then evergreen shrubs are brilliant at filling spaces while leaving no growing space for weeds. These new plantings don't have to be plain boring green. Mixing foliage shrubs that have striking leaf colour helps to provide interest when flowers are in short supply. For bright yellow splashes of variegated yellows think about Euonymus 'Emerald 'N' Gold', Euonymus japonicus 'Aureopictus' or Eleagnus pungens 'Maculata'. For golden yellow foliage in a tree then Robinia 'Frisia' is just the right size for small suburban gardens. For grey silver colours Euonymus 'Silver Queen' is an easy shrub to keep in shape while the grey leaved Eleagnus Quicksilver will grow into a tree if allowed, and carries the most fragrant yellow flowers in spring that will delight every garden owner. For red foliage in spring and summer then Photinia 'Red Robin' is a great shrub or the purple leaved flowering crab apple makes a not too vigorous tree. For autumn red displays look at Fothergilla, Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade' or any of the Acers.
Whether you choose to plant these foliage plants or stick to the more popular flowering kinds, they all need to be planted carefully in your garden soil. Nurserymen and Garden centres often complain that the majority of people who spend a fortune on buying plants, fail to spend anything on the correct planting technique.
Here's a guide to getting the best from your new plantings. Container grown shrubs and trees are grown by professional nurserymen not in ordinary garden soil but in an organic growing medium that holds plenty of water, nutrients and air. This special medium encourages strong root growth and allows a good size stem and leaf cover to be grown from a relatively small pot.
Getting this plant to push out new roots from its optimum pot conditions out into the inhospitable surroundings of ordinary mineral soil is not easy. If the soil is cold damp clay then your planting hole may just be a deep sump that collects water and drowns the plant's roots. If its well drained sand or stony soil then the existing root ball may be a haven of dampness compared with the dry surrounding soil. Your job as a gardener and planter is to avoid these obvious problems by providing a similar soil around the plant roots that will encourage strong root output.
First water the container grown plant thoroughly in a bucket of water while you dig out a planting hole that is twice the width and depth of the plant pot. Then fork over the base of the hole to encourage good drainage and add back in a mixture of your soil mixed in equal parts with Levington Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost, Miracle-Gro Eco Sense Soil Improver or Levington Organic Choice Soil Conditioner. This improvement of the soil with a well-balanced soil conditioner will vastly improve the water-holding capacity and drainage of ordinary soil and be more closely matched to the compost in the pots so that plant roots will be encouraged to spread out. You can help this process by taking off the pot and gently teasing out some of the root ends from the root ball. Place in position in the planting hole so the soil surface is at the same level as surrounding soil. Fill in with more improved soil, compressing this slightly with your fist. A dressing of Miracle-Gro Slow Release Plant Food should then be scattered over the surface and lightly raked into the soil. This will feed your plant during the next six months of mild weather when the plant is actively growing.
To complete the job stake tall trees so that winds do not rock them and finish off by adding a surface mulch of Soil Improver or Water Saving Bark over the rooting area. In dry weather you will need to water the roots of your newly planted trees and shrubs thoroughly every month.
LAWNS
As we head into autumn it's a good time to do any renovation work on the lawn as rains are more assured, especially towards the end of the month. To check the grass coverage use a rake to pull up any creeping stems of trailing grass and after mowing to reveal any bare patches of soil.
If you have just a few bare patches use the EverGreen Lawn Repair Kit to supply all the nutrients and grass seed you need. Dig over the bare patch to loosen the soil and scatter the grass seed evenly over the area. Rake into the soil and then water thoroughly. Keep the soil moist for the next few weeks while the seedlings emerge.
Next job is to collect each week any dead leaves that fall on the lawn. If they are left they can encourage bare patches and the spread of disease. Rake up or blow the leaves into heaps ready for composting. To help them break down more quickly, shred the leaves into smaller pieces and then add to the leaf mould pile adding a special compost activator to get the heap going. Biotal market a biological activator especially for leaves that they recommend for use when shredded leaves are composted in plastic bags.
TOPICAL TIP
If you are planning to sow a new lawn this autumn prepare the area now, ready to sow the seed late September. Dig out all perennial weeds and flatten the surface. Allow to consolidate for at least 3 weeks so that all weed seeds germinate and these can be cleared with Weedol 2 or Weedol 2 Gun!
FLOWERING BEDS AND BORDERS
Flowers will be putting on a final show before the onset of autumn frosts. Cone flowers (Rudbeckia), Heleniums, golden rod, red hot pokers and stonecrop will be flowering now and so too will chrysanthemums, penstemon and phlox. If you pick off the faded flower heads of these perennials and from remaining bedding plants then you can encourage a long-lasting display.
Watering of bedding plants during September, may be necessary if the weather is warm and dry. Watering will help to encourage plants to continue flowering although for maximum production they will need a weekly dose of a soluble plant food to keep them going. Use up the remains from boxes of Miracle-Gro Plant Food to feed any plant that needs a final boost before winter.
Watch Michaelmas daisies for powdery mildew and spray with FungusClear or FungusClear Gun! at the first signs of the disease. Other ornamentals that may be susceptible to powdery mildew are late flowering clematis and verbena.
Roses may well be showing signs of powdery mildew or rose blackspot on mature leaves. At this time of the year it is a good idea to pick off all the leaves that are showing disease and disposing of these in the dustbin rather than on the compost heap. Before the end of September spray with Roseclear 3 or Roseclear 3 Gun! and remember to start spraying your roses next year as soon as the fresh leaves unfurl and repeat regularly every fortnight. For a really early display of miniature daffodils such as February Gold, Angels Tears and Hoop Petticoat plant these bulbs in pots of Levington Multi-Purpose Compost as they start rooting immediately they are planted.
TOPICAL TIP
Continue to protect hostas and other vulnerable plants with SlugClear Advanced Pellets, as these molluscs can play havoc during the wet weather of autumn.
THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN
Continue to feed tomatoes growing in containers and giant planter with a specialist fertilize such as Tomorite.
Harvest onions and shallots in a dry spell when they can be lifted with a fork and allowed to dry naturally on the soil surface. If the weather is wet, take the crop into a shed or greenhouse and place on chicken wire to allow them to dry naturally.
Continue to pick French beans and runner beans as they are big enough for the kitchen. Lift maincrop potatoes and allow to dry off for an hour or so before storing all undamaged tubers in a well-ventilated frost-free shed. Pick fruits from apple and pear trees if you want to store some of your crop. Eat bruised and damaged fruit first. Rake up leaves from beneath fruit trees. The pink pustules and twisted foliage of peach leaf curl disease create a sickly peach tree that rarely fruits. To get the disease under control gather up all the leaves and burn. Spray the tree with Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide in the autumn and repeat the spray again in February as buds start to swell.
TOPICAL TIP
Sow some winter lettuce such as 'Winter Density' that can be grown outdoors or try 'Mini Green' or 'Blush' that will mature if grown in pots on the kitchen windowsill.
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL: USE PESTICIDES SAFELY
Information supplied by the Scotts Miracle Gro Company UK Ltd
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