September Gardening "To-Do's"

I always enjoy Walter Reeves gardening advice. Here are some of his tips as we prepare for Fall.

Fertilize salvia and chrysanthemums with liquid plant food. They will reward you with lots of blooms later this fall.

Examine your flower beds for tired out perennials like Shasta daisy, black-eyed Susan and purple coneflower. You can cut off dead flowers and brown foliage to neaten the plants for fall

Preserve excess basil leaves by pureeing in a blender with a little water. Freeze the slush in an ice tray and use the cubes in your wintertime spaghetti sauce.


Lightly trim back the tropical hibiscus you kept outdoors for the summer. Make plans for where you’ll place it indoors in bright light.

Divide daylily, iris and monkey grass while you still have several weeks of warm weather to encourage root growth.

It’s a great time to plant peony roots. A good, old-time favorite is ‘Festiva Maxima’.

Spring-flowering bulbs are on sale now. You can buy them – but don’t put them in the ground until soil temperatures are in the 60′s or cooler in early October.