Gardening in September: This work occurs in the fall

beginning of autumn
Picking, cleaning, planting: the most important gardening tasks in September

Allotment gardeners still have a lot to do in autumn. Before the plot goes into hibernation, the lawn, hedge, roses and fruit trees must be cared for.

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The gardening year is coming to an end. But before peace finally returns, hobby and allotment gardeners still have some important work to do. Lawns, hedges, fruit trees and roses need to be cared for. Our garden tips for September.

The golden autumn holds many rewards for allotment gardeners, but also some tasks. The apples on the trees soak up the last warm rays of sunshine of the year and can soon be picked and eaten. The same applies to plums, plums and pears. Those who have taken good care of their fruit trees in spring and summer are now reaping the fruits of their labour. But winter is not far away. At the same time, it is important to slowly prepare the garden for the first frosty nights. Many lawns have suffered badly from the dry phases of the summer of 2022, some of which lasted weeks, the roses are fading and some hedges could use a last beauty trimming before the winter dormancy. There is a lot to do in the gardening month of September. In the following article we explain what is important now, what you should pay attention to and which devices you need for this.

1. Clean roses

No matter how profusely they bloomed over the summer, the fragrant flowers of the last bed roses dry up at the beginning of September. In order to bring the flowers of love safely through the cold autumn and winter days, you should soon pull out the rose scissors. If you don’t want to have painful scratches on your hands, wrists and forearms, you should wear rose gloves (here a Gardena model) over before he or she plunges into the prickly undergrowth. Compared to ordinary gardening gloves, they are reinforced on the fingers and palms and also have a longer shaft.

Before your roses slowly prepare for their well-deserved hibernation in autumn, you should carefully clean them. Cut off any dead flowers. Important: In the case of clusters, cut off the “withered” branch above the first leaf; in the case of individual flowers, the second leaf may also be removed. Why should wilted flowers be removed? This prevents new infructescence from forming, which would unnecessarily cost the plant energy. Be sure to use rose scissors, or at least well-sharpened ones secateurs. Unnecessary wounds at the interfaces are the perfect opportunity for germs and pathogens that damage the roses in the long term. Therefore, always cut roses with bypass scissors.

2. Pick and store apples

Apples are among the most popular types of fruit in Germany. And autumn is the season when varieties like Elstar, Braeburn, Cox Orange & Co. are ready for harvest. Let the fruits catch a few late summer rays of sunshine in September and check the weather forecast before harvest. Especially if you want or have to store the apples (because there are too many), it should be dry on the harvest day. Because not all apples on a tree are ripe at the same time, it makes sense to spread the harvest over three days. When picking, make sure that the apples are not bruised or crushed. A fruit or apple picker (with telescopic handle) is not only a great help for taller trees. Shaking the apples off the tree is a bad idea, especially when storing them afterwards. The pome fruit is best collected in shaving baskets or Wooden fruit trays or plastic. In the cellar or wherever the apples are stored, it should be cool but frost-free. In addition, the highest possible humidity is important so that the apples do not shrivel. Garden sheds are therefore often a good alternative to mostly dry basement rooms.

3. Sow and fertilize the lawn

The lawns in Germany’s allotment gardens haven’t looked as sad as they did this summer for a long time. Hardly any rain, lots of sun. If something came down from the sky, it poured straight down like buckets and the ground didn’t have a chance to absorb the water. In other words: In many places, it’s not just the ground that’s bone dry. The stalks are burned and the lawn is like a yellow-brown stubble. The good news: Usually only the stalks die, the roots even survive longer periods of drought. A small downside: If you don’t water your lawn in summer, you will get more and more visits from lawn weeds, which get into deeper and still moist areas of the soil with their roots. But how does the sad yellow become a rich green again? First you should deal with one autumn lawn fertilizer to attempt.

Two weeks later at the earliest you throw it scarifier on. It loosens dead stalks and leaves from the ground. You may leave large bare areas when scarifying your lawn. That’s not bad. Because that’s what lawn seeds are for. So take advantage of the opportunity in September to “mend” the holes in the green. If you live in a rather dry region, it is best to use dry-resistant lawn seeds (e.g. from Veddelholz Garden). Important: After scarifying, collect the dried grass residue. Otherwise the overseeding has no chance to germinate. And another tip: stay away from long-term fertilizers! It is better to use something with a high potassium content. He strengthens the lawn and prepares it for the winter.

Tip: Here you will find a detailed article on the topic of sowing a lawn.

4. Shape the hedge (carefully).

The hedge also goes into hibernation as soon as the temperatures drop noticeably at night. So treat her to a topiary in September. Important: The radical hedge trimming is prohibited throughout Germany until the end of September. You should also be careful when cutting to shape. Be aware of possible nesting sites for native birds. In addition, a late and too bold cut stimulates the growth of young shoots. However, they are not particularly cold-resistant and may not survive the first frosty nights. So only trim the hedge very moderately in September. Instead of using a cordless or electric hedge trimmer (here a model from Bosch) is a good choice manual hedge trimmer on.

5. Plant flower bulbs

If you want to enjoy colorful and magnificent lilies or tulips in the front yard or your own allotment plot in spring, you should use September to plant the flower bulbs in the ground. It is important that the bulbs are planted in soil that is as permeable as possible. On very heavy soils, gravel helps to loosen the subsoil a little. The onions of lilies and tulips tend to rot if the soil is too wet. Some gravel or coarse building sand can prevent this. Scatter the gravel before planting in the planting hole. In the case of tulips in particular, you should wait until the middle/end of September before planting (and order or buy them accordingly later). Some mouse species prefer to dig up these in order to eat them. The colder it gets, the less active the voracious rodents are.

Rule of thumb for setting: Plant the bulbs about twice as deep in the ground as they are tall. Means: A five centimeter high tulip bulb belongs in a planting hole about ten centimeters deep.

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