Gardening tasks for September

• Order wildflower seeds and spring blooming bulbs. Pay close attention to our time zone and use only reputable companies.
• Deadhead roses and crape myrtles and remove unproductive growth.
• Divide iris, disinfect rhizomes and transplant or give away. I’ll never turn down a free iris!
• Sever layered rootings, taken in July, from the mother plants and transplant directly into the soil.
• Plant a row of lettuce, spinach and greens every two weeks from now until mid October to ensure a continuing harvest.
• Plant broccoli, beets, cabbage, bok choy, collards, cauliflower, chard, turnips, carrots, and radish if you haven’t done so.
• Sow seeds of snapdragon, pansy, astilbe, calendula, dianthus, viola, candytuft, statice, clarksia, Shasta daisy, columbine, statice, poppy, penstemon, hollyhock, lunarias, coreopsis, coral bells, campanula and sweet william.
• Plant ornamental cabbage and kale.
• Prune out dead and diseased wood from shrubs and trees. Leave the heavy pruning until mid-winter.
• Divide spring flowering perennials like gaillardia, rudbeckia, canna, daylilies, ajuga, violets and liriope.
• Mulch all new plantings.
• Keep all plants watered well, especially those with green fruit or berries.
• Keep hummingbird feeders cleaned and full of nectar.
• Plant container- grown shrubs and trees and keep watered.
• Clean up around all fruit trees, remove any dried fruit and discard to lessen the threat of fungal problems in the spring.
• Water and turn the compost piles.
• Collect seed from annuals that have done well and store in cool, dry, dark place. Prescription bottles are great for storing seed!
• Plant chrysanthemums. Be sure the plants have a good root system to support any blooms that are present.
• Fertilize perennials and deciduous trees one more time. Then stop fertilizing to promote root growth rather than tender stem growth.
• Prepare wildflower beds and remember that these have a hard time competing with grasses so prepare the beds with that in mind.
• Prepare beds for spring blooming bulbs and add lots of organic matter. Be sure the bed has good drainage so the bulbs do not rot.
• Lightly prune and fertilize roses.
• Plant Mexican Mint Marigold, fall asters, ornamental grasses Mexican Bush Salvia and sedums.
• If anticipating moving a small tree, root prune it now to reduce transplant shock when moved later in the year.
• Be sure to label all new plants in the garden to reduce the risk of digging up after dormancy sets in.