What to do in your garden in September - Northern California

Sunset, Sept, 2003

PLANTING

[] BULBS. Sunset climate zones 7-9. 14-17: Try these less common charmers in your garden. All will give a colorful display in spring: baboon flower (Babiana), African corn lily (Ixia), dwarf Narcissus, Freesia, grape hyacinth (Muscari), harlequin flower (Sparaxis), Homeria collina, naked lady (Amaryllis belladonna), ranunculus, Tritonia and species tulips (such as Tulipa clusiana, T. saxatilis), and windflower (Anemone coronaria).

[] LAWN. Zones 1-9, 14-17: Toward the end of the month, sow seed or lay sod over soil that's been rotary tilled and amended with organic matter. Zones 1-2: Plant new lawns early in the month (at highest elevations, such as the Lake Tahoe area, wait to plant seed until October; it will germinate in spring when the snow melts).

[] PERENNIALS. Zones 7-9, 14-17: Plant perennials now so roots get established through late fall and winter. Choices include campanula, candytuft, catmint, coreopsis, delphinium, dianthus, diascia, foxglove, gaillardia, geum, Japanese anemone, penstemon, phlox, pincushion flower, salvia, Scaevola, and yarrow. Nurseries should have a good selection in sixpacks, 4-inch pots, and gallon cans. In zones 7-9, wait to plant until the middle or end of the month, when the weather cools a bit.

[] VEGETABLES. Zones 7-9, 14-17: Early autumn is a great time to introduce kids to vegetable gardening. Select a small, sunny border or, if you lack garden space, plant in containers. Plant carrots; try small, round 'Thumbelina' from Territorial Seed Company (www.territorial-seed. com or 541/942-9547). Mix seed with 1/8 cup of clean sand so it's easier to distribute. Also plant onion sets, snap peas (kids love to eat them fresh off the vine), and radishes (red, purple, and white 'Easter Egg II', also from Territorial, are fun to harvest, even if kids don't want to eat them).

MAINTENANCE

[] CARE FOR ROSES. Zones 7-9, 14-17: To encourage a good flush of flowers in fall, give plants a shot of fertilizer now. (Try organic rose food, sold at nurseries and home centers.) Make sure the soil is moist before applying it; water well afterward. Also remove faded blooms and rose hips to encourage bud formation. If powdery mildew is starting to show up on leaves, or if spider mites are present, spray foliage with a nontoxic fungicide made from sulfur (such as Safer Garden Fungicide).

[] PICK UP FALLEN FRUIT AND LEAVES. Inspect fallen fruit. If it's diseased or infested with insects, bag it and discard in the trash. Also, clean up fallen leaves from beneath fruit trees; they may be harboring diseases. It's best not to compost fruit and leaves unless you know your pile gets hot enough to kill the pests.

[] REMOVE MULCHES. Zone 1-2: As temperatures start to drop in fall, keep organic mulches away from warm-season crops so the sun can heat the soil.

[] REPLANT FLOWERPOTS. Zones 7-9, 14-17: By September, summer flowers in pots may look bedraggled. To carry the container plantings through the last remaining warm days, replant them with late-summer annuals such as cosmos, marigolds, salvias, or zinnias. Or wait until the end of the month to plant cool-season annuals such as calendula, Iceland and Shirley poppies, ornamental cabbage and kale, pansies, primrose, snapdragon, stock, sweet peas, and violas. Before planting, add new planting mix and an organic or timed-release fertilizer.

BACK TO BASICS

The benefits of fall planting

Shrubs, trees, and groundcovers get a head start when planted in fall. Set them out early enough so roots begin to grow while the soil is warm (late August to October in colder climates, September through October in mild climates, and October to November in warm climates). As the weather turns cool and fall rains come, roots will become well established by spring.