Garden Tasks for SEPTEMBER in Acadiana: By Dan Weintritt and friends

Created for use by the Louisiana Native Plant Society with the Acadiana Native Plant Project.

Made in the style of Dan Gill's Month by Month Gardening in Louisiana, Cool Springs Press,

Copyright 1999, 2006

SEPTEMBER - To Do

Yes, it's September, i. e., the second month of August. Garden

chores will be much the same as last month. Do not plant or move

things that can wait a month, when cooler weather and shorter days

will come. Keep in mind that plants installed now may need to be

watered twice a day to stay alive. Happily, all our well-established

natives should be able to handle the harsh weather. If we are

experiencing drought, keep in mind that some of our natives are

wetland plants, and our suburban yards are not natural wetlands.

Moisture-dependent species like Dahoon and Inkberry Holly,

Sweetbay Magnolia, and others may require extra water.

Deadheading can be done one final time, if desired, but isn't

necessary. The impending shorter days will push plants that are

capable of fall bloom to do so. I personally begin to leave all

seedheads on plants from this point on, because they will provide

food to the migrating birds soon to arrive here.

You should begin to see fall bloomers, like goldenrod, the perennial

sunflowers, and ironweed flowering. These are pollinator magnets.

See if you are getting new insect visitors on these plants.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds should be beginning their fall

migration. While we do have pairs that stay in our area year-round,

hummers all the way from Canada will be making their way down

here, either to spend the winter, or to fuel up in our nectar-filled

gardens before crossing the Gulf into Mexico for winter. Malvaviscus

arboreus, the Turk's Cap Hibiscus, should be at peak bloom to

provide them with abundant food. Happily, this easy-to-grow native

blooms in full sun to full shade, and in wet or dry soils. Scarlet Sage,

Fall Obedient Plant, Coral Honeysuckle, and Crossvine are others

that provide great nectar for hummers. If you have all the flowers and

still have few hummingbirds, you might lack the trees and shrubs that

give them shelter from weather and predators. Hummers expend lots

of energy flapping those wings so quickly, and need to perch and rest

often while feeding.

Areas where plants failed, or that have recently been purged of

weeds, are best mulched and left absent of plants. Mulching these

bare spots will help keep out unwanted invasive plants until you are

able to plant what you like. Prime planting time for perennials is

October through April, while this author really prefers January and

February.

If you haven't yet, order seeds and bulbs now for future planting.

Some need a period of 6-12 weeks of cold-stratification in the

refrigerator (simulating winter conditions) before being ready to plant.

Continue to check seedpods for just-papery, dried husks for spring

sowing. Fall plant sale announcements should be popping up (see

this newsletter) this month. Content yourself in this last month of

summer with big plans for pleasant gardening in the near future!

If your Louisiana Irises have not been blooming well, and you did

not divide them last month, you can still do that now. Lift an entire

rhizome, and break off the vigorous parts with fresh growth to replant.

This task will open up bed space for Irises to grow and bloom with

renewed vigor. The older, woodier part of the rhizome can simply be

composted, or tried somewhere new, though this part of the stem will

not typically put out much new growth.