Paul Gargan
In times past September was seen as the end of the growing season. It was time to bed the garden down for the winter, but not anymore. Milder weather in autumn has stretched the growing season on into the year.
Clip hedges such as beech and hornbeam now to keep them tidy until spring. By cutting them at the very start of autumn, instead of dropping their leaves they will change colour and stay on the plant, hence the name copper beech.
As with all hedges, when clipping you should aim to make the sides of the hedge slope in very slightly so the base is wider than the top. This is so the whole hedge gets sunlight to avoid shade killing the bottom of it.
Pyracantha berries have ripened and are glowing, trouble is they will be hidden as the plant has put on a lot of growth since the berries set earlier in the year. The berries are now hidden. Trim back this new growth with secateurs to show the plant at its best.
It’s time to buy and plant bulbs for your spring bulb display. Most can be planted now, but with tulips and hyacinths wait until Oct/Nov to plant. Keep them in a paper bag indoors in a cool, dry place. If planted now and conditions get wet, they may rot before they have a chance to take root, as they are late starters.
General guide
When planting bulbs it is important to plant them deep. A general guide is to plant a bulb three times its own depth, so the bottom of the planting hole must be four times the height of the bulb measured top to bottom. If planted too shallow they may not flower in succeeding years.
To achieve a natural-looking effect when planting bulbs, scatter them in handfuls in the area to be planted and plant them where they fall. This is to avoid straight lines.
Keep deadheading summer bedding, roses, dahlias etc. to prolong their flowering season. They will keep going until first frost. If earwigs are eating the petals of your dahlias, stuff a ball of scrunched up newspaper into a small flower pot. Push small canes into the ground in between your plants and put the flowerpot upside down on the canes.
At sunrise the earwigs will crawl inside the pot to hide and you can release them to another part of your garden. Don’t kill them as they are an important part of greenfly control.
Turn your compost heap now to keep it in tip top condition for all the garden waste that is soon to come its way. Turning it now to mix it will be easier than when it is full.