With summer drawing to a close, gardeners have been urged to focus on several crucial jobs this September. After very little rain during a period in which the UK experienced five heatwaves, some plants suffered under the prolonged hot and dry conditions. However, with rain now returning to some parts of the country, horticulturist Guy Barter says this is the ideal time to tackle certain gardening jobs.
Cover crops must be sown by mid-September
He told The i Paper: "This early autumn is ideal for sowing cover crops once the soil is moist enough."
"These pick up unused soil nutrients and prevent them being washed away and lost to potentially cause pollution. Their roots will also improve soil," he claimed.
"Some make excellent plants for pollinators when they flower spring, phacelia tanacetifolia, or fiddleneck, has abundant blue flowers next year and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) bears masses of red flowers valued by bees."
He added: "These must be sown by mid-September for good results but rye, ryegrass and wheat (from birdseed can be sown until November, although sooner is better."
Other September tasks
For flower beds that won't lie soggy all winter, he also suggested covering bare ground with annual flowers, recommending the likes of alyssum, calendula and candytuft (Iberis). "Sow as early in September as possible," he added to the publication.
He also advised: "While the soil is not too wet, take the opportunity to remove grass and other other vegetation from around the base of new trees."
Meanwhile, Alan Titchmarsh has named five plants he believes gardeners should be focusing on this September. With the rain making soil damp again, he says conditions are now ideal for adding late-summer flowering plants to beds and borders.
Alan explains that these particular plants are those that start blooming in July and continue into autumn, and in some instances even until the first frosts in November.
He lists Crocosmia, Echinacea, Sedum 'Hot Stuff', Kniphofia (aka red hot poker) 'Papaya Popsicle' and, lastly, his number one choice, the dahlia.
"Dahlias were out of fashion for years. They were thought to be vulgar. Heaven knows who by because I've always loved them," he said.
"They grow from a tuber and you plant it in spring in your beds and borders. Up it comes and flowers like this from midsummer right the way through to the frosts of November."
Cuttings advice
Gardeners' World star Monty Don has also shared the last minute jobs to tackle this bank holiday. According to him, August presents the ideal window for taking cuttings, which involves snipping off a small section of plant from your healthiest specimens already flourishing in the garden.
According to Liverpool Echo he said: "As August progresses, semi-ripe cuttings taken from the current season's wood that has started to harden off are increasingly available and also increasingly likely to root quickly."
Monty advises choosing strong, healthy growth from flowers or flower buds and placing the cuttings in a polythene bag so they can be potted up straight away. To prepare the cutting, he advises removing the lower leaves and any side shoots, leaving less than an inch of foliage. Using a sharp knife, make a clean cut before planting it in a container filled with gritty compost or pure perlite.
He says there is no need for anything complicated to encourage healthy root growth, as the plant mainly requires oxygen and water. Good drainage is therefore essential, helping to ensure the cutting gets the moisture it needs without becoming waterlogged.
