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September Gardening Tips
By: Howard Galin / Happy Gardening
It’s appropriate that Labor Day comes in
September since it signifies that a great
amount of labor will be needed to get our gardens
in shape after our brutal summer temperatures and to get ready for
the upcoming fall and winter seasons.
We will be having more moderate temperatures, so go outside and
repair the damage caused by 100+ temperatures and long days of
scorching sunshine.
Your primary step should be the application of quality fertilizers to
the soil in order to replenish nutrients that have been utilized during
the past growing season. Follow the Water Authority fall watering
schedule and remember to diminish your “run time” too.
Next, it is important to address the needs of specific plantings in
your landscape.
1. Cactus, yucca, and agave need to have reduced amounts of water
as the days become shorter and cooler. You can make cuttings now
and prepare them for planting later in the coming weeks.
Treat the soil around agaves with systemic insecticide to kill weevil
eggs that will hatch underground and eat the roots systems. Treat
prickly pear and cholla cactus with malathion to prevent cochineal
infestation.
2. Flowering and/or fruit trees should NOT be pruned in September!
You should only remove dead or damaged branches and leaves.
This will stimulate more robust growth that will withstand cold
winds and frost damage in the winter. You should apply specialized
fertilizer formulated for fruit, citrus, and flowering trees.
3. If your tomato plants survived the summer, you should heavily
prune them leaving just 4-6 inches of stem remaining and fertilize
with a high phosphorus tomato fertilizer. This will provide a late fall/
early winter harvest of tomatoes for the holidays!
4. Perennial flowering plants should be pruned and treated with
high phosphorus fertilizer to stimulate fall growth and blooming. Do
NOT, however, heavily prune roses. Just remove the dead branches and
spent flowers.
5. And if you have not already done so, September is the last month
to fertilize and to prune palm trees.
Have any questions? As always feel free to contact me at:
Theplantwhisperer28@gmail.com.
Howard Galin, a/k/a: “The Plant Whisperer” is a retired NYC
school administrator, transplanted in Las Vegas who devotes his
time to communicating with and lecturing about our native
plants.
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September 2021