SEPTEMBER IS THE BEGINNING OF THE “FALL IS FOR PLANTING” SEASON
FALL IS FOR PLANTING
Yes, it is only the beginning of September. Fall is not officially here until September 22nd. However, in the plant industry, the whole month of September is considered the beginning of fall. Knowing that winter is next, you may ask yourself why fall is a good planting season. The answer is not complicated. With fall, the hot days are behind us. We tend to have more cool temperatures than hot ones. And, with these cooler days, our soil also starts to cool down. And lastly, rainfall from Mother Nature helps keep our soil from being dry. The combination of cooler soil temperatures and more moist soil leads to better root development of the newly planted plants. Plants planted now will have nine months of ideal conditions for the roots to become larger and more developed before next summer’s heat. That’s it in a nutshell.
LAWN CARE
September is the first month of the S.O.D. LAWN CARE program. The S stands for September. Now is the time to reseed or overseed your lawn with a good quality cool-season fescue grass seed blend. And, you want to give your lawn its first feeding of the season.
- It is imperative to know your lawn size in order to know how much seed and fertilizer to apply.
- You may consider a core lawn aeration to improve soil structure and reduce compaction.
- The ideal soil pH for grasses is 6.2 – 6.5. You can adjust the pH by adding lime (to raise pH) or sulfur (to lower pH).
PRUNING
According to the GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL PRUNING CALENDAR, there is nothing you should be pruning this month. The reason is that pruning encourages a plant to put out new growth. You do not want this to be happening now because this new growth will not have time to “harden off” before winter.
HOUSEPLANTS
You need to think about all the tropical houseplants you have outside. You want them inside before our temperature drops below 50 degrees.
BULB PLANTING
September is the start of the spring bulb planting season. Spring-blooming bulbs such as Crocus, Daffodils, Hyacinths, and others can be planted anytime between now and the end of October. Buy your Tulip bulbs now while the supply is plentiful, but hold off on planting them until closer to Thanksgiving. Why? Tulip bulbs like cooler soil. Be sure to plant tulip bulbs deep (12”+) where our soil remains cool all year.
VEGETABLE PLANTING
September is the beginning month for planting our cool-season vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, collards, and others. These vegetables love the cooler soil and air temperatures.
FALL IS FOR PLANTING A LITTLE HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!