Gardening Jobs for September

Make the most of the remaining warmth, and cross off a few of these tasks from your gardening checklist. September is the perfect time to start preparing your lawn, trees and plants for the winter months, and get your spring flowering bulbs ready for next year.

Spring Bulbs

To ensure you have a cheery and colourful garden come spring, plant your spring-flowering bulbs such as narcissi, crocus, and muscari between September and October, or a little later for your tulips, which are best planted between October and November. Now is the time to order trees and shrubs, as they will grow well next spring if planted this autumn, and for those with a fruit garden, don’t forget your strawberries, raspberries, and other berry fruits as these are best planted during their dormant season.

End of season tidy

A summer garden will usually need a bit of a clear up before winter months. Remove dying or decaying stems from borders, and tidy away BBQ’s and paddling pools.

Lawn Care

September is the perfect month for lawn care, so make sure to rake and aerate your lawn. You can apply a fertiliser rich in potassium and low in nitrogen. Take advantage of the warm soil and moist from autumn showers if you need to re seed any areas of lawn.

Harvest fruit and veg

You should harvest fruit and vegetables regularly during September. If any remaining apples and pears are easily blown off the tree by the wind, it usually means they are ready to harvest. You can store undamaged fruits if you can't eat them fresh.

Wildlife Care

Leaving seedheads, especially on plants such as teasels, thistles and sunflowers provides food for birds through the coldest months, and leaving herbaceous borders intact will provide shelter and warmth for small mammals. Take this opportunity to wash and disinfect bird feeders and tables to maintain hygiene.

Divide perennials

Dividing your perennials will keep your plants healthy and vigorous year after year, encouraging them to return to full form come spring or summer. Whilst you can do this almost all year around, it is most successful when the plants are in their dormant season, which for most summer-flowering perennials will be from September to November.