September in Your Garden

It’s September…Let’s Go Gardening!

September is Arbor Month. Visit Lifestyle Home Garden to choose from a large selection of indigenous and exotic trees for big and small gardens.  Look out for the Trees of the Year, i.e. Searsia lancea (Karee) and Searsia leptodictya (Mountain Karee), Apodytes dimidiata (Whiter pear) and Euphorbia sekukuniensis (Sekhukhuni naboom)

In the Garden

September tends to be very hot and dry, so watering will need to be increased, always adhering to water restrictions. Be water-wise and spread a layer of mulch around plants or grow a water wise groundcover in all beds and borders to retain moisture, suppress weed growth and keep plants’ roots cool. For more about watering guidelines click |HERE|.

Prune winter flowering shrubs and hedges that have finished flowering. Pinch growth tips to encourage branching. Frost sensitive shrubs that flower after mid-summer on the new season’s growth can also be pruned when all danger of frost is over.

Perennials and ornamental grasses that have finished flowering can be divided and transplanted now.

Now is the time to feed the whole garden with an organic fertiliser like 3:1:5 or 2:3:2. Add a generous layer of compost – it will improve the condition of the soil and act as mulch.

Fertilise rose bushes with a balanced rose fertiliser and increase watering to twice a week (approximately 10 litres per week). For more about Rose Care click |HERE|.

Clivias are our number one shade-loving, water saving, indigenous perennials – plant them now. Plant en masse in the dappled shade of a tree or to brighten up a dull corner. They can also be planted in pots on a shady patio. Plant in well-draining soil and water regularly during the warm months.

Look out for beautiful summer bulbs like Zantedeschia, Eucomis, Gladioli, Sandersonia, Gloriosa Lily and Amaryllis (to name but a few) which will be available early in September and Dahlia bulbs which will be in during late September. Plant in well prepared beds. Remember to feed bulbs that have finished flowering with a specially formulated bulb food or 3:1:5 fertiliser to provide essential nutrients for next season.

Scarify and aerate your lawn to allow easier penetration of air, water and fertilisers. Cover with a fine layer of lawn dressing to stimulate new growth and improve the condition of the soil. Start feeding the lawn with an organic nitrogen-rich fertiliser like 5:1:5 or 8:1:5. Water well before and after application. Thereafter water deeply once a week to encourage deep, healthy root growth. Time to service your lawnmower and sharpen or replace the blades. Our Spring lawn treatment guide can be found |HERE|

Weed the garden regularly now and save yourself a lot of trouble later in the year.

This is the ideal time to clean water features and ponds after the dusty winds of August. If necessary, aquatic plants can be divided and replanted now.

Remove the old potting soil around all your contained plants up to root level and fill up with fresh soil or replant into larger containers where necessary.

Pesky Pests

Check Clivias and other lily-like plants (e.g. Agapanthus and Amaryllis) for lily borers (a stripy black and yellow caterpillar). Pick them off manually and squash or spray with an organic pesticide the moment you see traces of them.

Aphids just love all that new, soft growth on roses, citrus, seedlings and other plants. Check the undersides of leaves and spray fortnightly with and organic insecticide to get rid of these little suckers.

Our comprehensive Pests and Diseases blog can be found |HERE|

In the Food Garden

Remove the last of the spent winter veg and prepare beds, containers and hanging baskets for your summer vegetables and herbs. Add compost and an organic fertiliser to improve and condition the soil.

Sow or plant beans, beetroot, radishes, carrots, spinach, Swiss Chard and lettuce now and tomatoes, sweet peppers, chilies, cucurbits, maize and brinjals when all danger of frost has passed. Water seedlings daily and feed with a suitable organic liquid fertiliser every fortnight.

Seed potatoes are available for planting now. Plant either in prepared beds or the nifty potato bags and pots for sale in store.

Fruit trees must be protected against fruit fly by either spraying or putting out bait in traps. The ideal time to do this is at 75% blossom drop. Continue spraying fortnightly. It’s also a good time to plant new fruit trees. Lifestyle stocks a wide range of all sorts of fruit trees and berries – make your pick!

Spoil yourself to some strawberry plants available now. Plant in beds, pots or hanging baskets.  Very exciting is Mayford’s ‘Florian’ strawberry seeds if you would like try your hand at growing this exceptionally tasty variety from seed.

In Lifestyle Home Garden – Beautiful and ready to be planted now…

Nothing shouts “Spring!” like these perennials in full flower: Scabiosa, Felicia, Argyranthemum, Salvia, an incredible array of pelargoniums, Osteospermum, clivias and Aquilegia.

On the bedding tables for your beds, borders, pots and baskets you can choose your favourites from: Impatiens, New Guinea Impatiens, begonias, Chrysanthemum, marigolds, gazanias, petunias, Celosia, Salvia, Verbena, snapdragons, Lobelia and Alyssum.

Visit us or shop online to find all your Spring gardening necessities and faves in full flower now!

A happy, snappy Spring to you all!