Tom's Monthly Gotta-Do's

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If your landscape is like mine many of the flowers are fading fast. What the summer months with the heat and humidity did not get the storms did. Many of the plantings have major wind damage and others have rotted away with all the water.

Here is the good news: garden centers are filling with some real bargain buys. Most are tropicals that the growers would like to remove from their inventory. Some are a bit pot bound and all will be susceptible to cold -- it's costing more to heat these plants during the winter so growers have sent them to market. Some I have found are the heliconias, tulip gingers and the Black Flamingo chrysothemis.

This latter plant you may not know but it's an African violet relative with big dark
leaves and bright yellow to orange flowers. All are really good buys and look great in container gardens or in the ground.

Speaking of winds and rains ' we all have had plenty. Fay just lingered and dumper lots of water on us. Some had up to 26 inches in just a few days. There of course was flooding but the good news is the lakes are up and hopefully this can help recharge the aquifer too. Most likely you now know of areas in the landscape that are the low spots. Some drainage or redirection of the water flow is going to
be needed -- this is definitely a Gotta Do .

Don't forget, one end of summer chore is the final pruning of the poinsettias. Just a light tipping of the shoots is all that is needed. It's hard to believe but in about three more months they could be showing color. Do keep up the feedings every 6 to 8 weeks and keep the soil moist. The holiday cactus should be getting their last feedings of the year and you can also start to reduce the waterings.

September really starts the fall gardening season. It's probably going to start off hot and wet but by month's end could be dry and a bit cooler. So there is a lot on my list of Gotta Do's below.

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Tom's Gotta-do's for September, 2008
	Remove wind damaged plant portions; correct drainage problems.
	Plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants immediately to obtain a crop before cold weather.
	Install soaker hoses or micro-sprinklers to conserve water.
	Use mulches to stretch the time between waterings and prevent soil from adhering to leafy crops.
	Consider adding vegetables to containers for patio and balcony gardens.
	Irrigate citrus trees once or twice a week during dry weather to maintain the fruit.
	Start seedlings of fall cool season crops.
	Rejuvenate herb gardens with fresh fall plantings.
	Feed vegetable gardens every three to four weeks; container gardens weekly.
	Give all fruit trees a final light trimming before winter if needed.
	Conserve water; wait to irrigate established turf until leaf blades start to curl.
	Repair lawns damaged by summer pests.
	Begin sodding or plugging shady areas.
	Aerate hard to wet or compacted soils.
	Apply a fungicide to lawns severely affected by leaf spot and root rot problems.
	Give lawns a fall feeding with a low phosphorus turf fertilizer starting in late September.
	Begin fall weed control treatments at the end of the month.
	Established trees and shrubs usually survive with minimal waterings; only irrigate when they show signs of stress.
	Renew mulch layers with top-dressings as needed. .
	Summer heat and rain has caused the decline of many annuals and perennials; replace as needed
	Prune declining fronds and flower stems from palms but leave the green.
	Due to their short display life chrysanthemums are best added to container gardens.
	Add new soil to container gardens and replant with fall flowers.
	Remove over growths from trees, shrubs and vines with a late summer grooming.
	Feed palms lightly through October or use a slow release fertilizer 3 to 4 times a year.
	Finish pruning cold sensitive hedges and ornamentals.
	Begin late September shrub and perennial feedings for fall .
	Install gutters to move water away from the home and flower beds.
	Save the cooler water from hot water faucets and water left in dinner glasses to moisten indoor plants.
	Decide which plants to bring indoors for the cooler months.
	Perform final pruning of foliage plants set outdoors for the summer.

September Plantings 2008

Flowers: Ageratum, angelonia, begonia, blue daze, butterfly weed, cat's whiskers, celosia,
cleome, coleus, coreopsis, cosmos, garden mums, gaura, gazania, gerbera, goldenrod,
gomphrena, heliotrope, impatiens, jacobinia, lantana, marigold, melampodium, nicotiana,
pentas, periwinkle, ruellia, salvia, sunflower, sweet alyssum, torenia, verbena and zinnia

Vegetables: Early plantings include lima bean, snap bean, corn, cucumber, eggplant,
pepper, southern pea, rhubarb, squash, and tomato; End of the month crops include broccoli,
cabbage, celery, collard, endive, lettuce, mustard, onion, radish, strawberry and turnip

Herbs: Anise, basil, bay laurel, borage, chives, coriander, dill, lemon balm, lavender, Mexican tarragon, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, sweet fennel, sweet marjoram and thyme.

Bulbs: African iris, agapanthus, amaryllis, blackberry lily, bulbine, calla lily, crinum,
crocosmia, day lily, gladiolus, kaffir lily, narcissus, society garlic, spider lily, rain lilies
and walking iris.

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