Adair County
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September Gardening Tips |
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ORNAMENTALS
- Plant evergreens now
- Take cuttings of annuals to have vigorous plants for overwintering.
- Plant spring bulbs except for tulips as soon as they are available. Keep tulips in a cool, dark place and plant in late October.
- Divide perennials, especially spring bloomers. Enrich the soil with peat moss or compost before replanting.
- Divide peonies now. Replant in a sunny site and avoid planting deeply.
- Lift gladiolus when their leaves yellow. Cure in an airy place until dry before husking.
- Begin forcing poinsettias to bloom at the end of the month. Place plants in a cool, dark room or closet from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. for about 8 weeks or until top leaves turn red.
VEGETABLES
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Sowing seeds of radish, lettuce, spinach, and other greens in a cold frame will prolong fall harvests.
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Pinch out the top of brussel sprout plants to plump out the developing sprouts.
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Keep broccoli picked regularly to encourage additional production of side shoots.
FRUIT
- Pick pears before they are fully mature. Store in a cool, dark basement to ripen.
- Discard any spoiled or fallen fruits.
- Paw paws ripen in the woods now.
- Check along peach tree trunks to just below the soil line for gummy masses caused by borers. Probe holes with thin wire to puncture borers.
TURFGRASS
- Begin fall seeding or sodding of cool season grasses. Seedbeds should be raked, dethatched, core-aerified, fertilized, and seeded. Keep newly planted lawn areas moist, but do not wet.
- If soils become dry, established lawns should be watered thoroughly to a depth of 4-6 inches.
- Cool season lawns are best fertilized in fall. Make up to 3 applications between now and December. Do not exceed rates recommended by fertilizer manufacturer.
- It is not uncommon to see puff balls in lawn areas at this time.
- Newly seeded lawns should not be cut until they are at least 2-3 inches tall.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Fall is a good time to add manure, compost, or leaf mold to garden soils for increasing organic matter content.
- Monitor plants for spider mite activity. Reduce their numbers by hosing off with a forceful spray of water.
- Seasonal loss of inner needles on conifers is normal at this time. It may be especially noticeable on pines.
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University of Missouri Extension |
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