SEPTEMBER GARDENING
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Knock out Roses
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We hope you are enjoying the feel of fall approaching. The temperature this morning as we write this was a cool 68 degrees. Even though the weather is cooler, continue to monitor your moisture in the lawn and garden. September can be a dry month and with the weather cooling down we often neglect our watering. LAWNS Your lawn needs to be winterized, so no more fertilizer until your lawn breaks dormancy next spring. This is the perfect time of year to take soil samples from your lawn and garden beds to the Clemson extension office on University Ave in Greenwood. If the pH of your soil samples need adjusting it will take several months for it to change so fall is a perfect time to apply what they recommend. How to Collect Soils Samples Raise your mowing height by 1/2 inch several weeks before the first expected frost of October 27. PERENNIALS, ROSES, SHRUBS, AND TREES We have some great perennials this month. The Autumn Joy Sedum is really showing off right now. This is a great time to add to your perennial border. Fertilizing won't be necessary for perennials. Allow them to go dormant so they can survive our winter weather. September is the month to divide Bee balm, Day lilies, Shasta Daisies, Thread leaf Coreopsis and any other spring or summer blooming perennials. Dividing Perennials Clean up diseased leaves from your plants and ground and discard them. With the hot and humid weather we had, there are many leaf spot diseases that may have attacked our hydrangeas, dogwoods and other susceptible plants. If you leave the disease spores they will reinfect your plant when rain splashes on them. This is a great time to plant roses and we have some gorgeous knock-out roses for sale. Pick a nice sunny place for them and enjoy their disease resistant care and lovely blossoms for years to come. Keep them watered since newly planted plants need extra water to help them get established. The Fall Webworm may take residence in one or more of your trees and become conspicuous this fall. They spin webs near the ends of your branches and have a wide host range. Most popular are the birches, sycamore, peach, ash, apples, and walnuts.  | |
Fall Webworm
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These are mostly a cosmetic nuisance and defoliation involves only a few branches and occurs so late in the season when the tree is ready to shed its leaves that it is barely a concern. You can prune out the caterpillars, tear apart their webs with a stick so the birds can dine on them, or use an organic product call Bt which we carry in our store. Most of us just leave them alone with the confidence that they won't harm our trees or plants.
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Snapdragons
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ANNUALS AND BULBS  | |
Plentifall Pansies
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Do you have one of those lovely Mandevillas adorning your mailbox? Because it is tropical it will die in our cold weather so if you want to save it follow these guidelines: Prune it back to about 2-feet in height, dig it out of the ground with as much of the intact root system as possible, shake off some of the soil and re-pot in a suitable size container in potting soil. Leave it for a few days keeping it moist before bringing it indoors. Then place it in bright direct sunlight such as your sun room. In the late fall or winter, move it to a cool room with night temperatures in the 60's.
This is Mum, snapdragon and pansy month so look for upcoming announcements of their arrival in our nursery. We know it is hard to take out healthy looking summer annuals but remember the importance of getting the cool weather annuals established so they can withstand the very cold weather. You also will find the best selection of annuals early in the season. We often see the disappointed faces of our customers that wait too long and can't find the colors and varieties they like. VEGETABLES AND HERBS You might be done with vegetable gardening for the year and if so a good clean up now will be in order. Certain disease and insects overwinter in plant debris so discard as much as you can. If you are still harvesting tomatoes, peppers and eggplants by mid month, pinch new blossoms off to help the smaller fruit mature before the cold weather and keep them moist. Dig your sweet potatoes before frost. You can cure them in a warm room to toughen the skin. Harvest winter squash and pumpkins before frost and keep in a cool dry basement For the year round vegetable gardeners this is a good time to seed with Beets, Carrots, Kale, Spinach, Lettuce, Turnips and Radishes. Transplants of Leaf Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage and Collards can go in. Cilantro is a annual winter herb and wonderful to harvest fresh from your garden. Apply fertilizers to vegetables as needed. We carry so many great varieties including one of our favorites Happy Frog Fertilizer. VINES We have passion vines!! This gorgeous vine is one of the most exotic, spicy scented flowers in the garden. Put lots of mulch and even some rocks to absorb heat around it's roots and it will overwinter nicely in our zone. This vine is a must for the larva of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly.  | |
Passion Flower
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We hope you have enjoyed our tips on taking care of your garden. Your success in gardening is so important to us. Please come in and see some of the unique gifts that have been coming in from our trip to market. | 
