September is a month of changes. Now is the time for fall fertilizing. This is the most important feeding of the year.

Use a winterizer on all lawn grasses. Chemical fertilizer will need to be watered in very soon after applying. Organic fertilizer is naturally slow release and you can wait to water if necessary.

If the liquid spray fertilizer is used, it doesn’t last as long as granular. It’s recommended to use granular for the fall feeding. Do not use a weed and feed product on your lawn. The weed killer will damage the shrubs and trees. It may not kill them right away, but eventually it will stunt or kill them.

The products should be applied separately. If you plan to overseed with rye or other grass seed, don’t use a pre-emergent herbicide; the seed will not germinate.

When planting bulbs; daffodils, narcissus, paperwhites, tulips, etc. plant three or more bulbs to a clump for maximum effect. Don’t hurry to plant; keep them in the refrigerator vegetable tray until after Thanksgiving. Daffodils and ranunculus may be planted now, but the other bulbs should be refrigerated. When you plant, use a spoon of Bonemeal in the planting hole.

September thru October 15 – plant bush beans, beets, brussel sprouts, cabbage, leaf lettuce, carrots, radishes, summer squash and cauliflower. Check the number of days for production. Our first frost date is usually in early November, but you know Texas weather.

Plant petunias, snapdragons, and dianthus transplants. Wait until cooler weather before planting the pansy family; viola, Johnny-jump-ups, and pansies. For fall color, plant asters, mums, snapdragons, alyssum, flowering cabbage and kale plus many perennials that are in bloom.

I purchased two Mexican Sages to plant in an empty flower bed near City Hall. Mexican Sage is a very good, drought tolerant plant. It has long violet blooms and the plant grows to a size of 4’x4’ …it will be planted with purple lantana, Mexican petunia and salvia greggi.

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Oxblood Lilies (rhodophiala bifida) are beginning to bloom. That means that fall is just around the corner.

I’ve always been excited when I walk outside and there they are. Some people call them September Surprise, Schoolhouse Lilies, or Naked Ladies. They pop up in unexpected places without warning. They are in the Amaryllis family and are similar to Red Spider Lilies (lycoris radiata).

The Oxblood Lily was brought from Argentina to the Comfort area by a German plant enthusiast. More Oxblood Lilies are found in the central Texas area than any other.

If you want to move the bulbs, wait until the bloom and leaves have died down; don’t disturb them while the leaves are still green. Dig the bulbs and move them to another location (sun or shade). Check out the lilies in front of City Hall. There are many more than last year.

Brown Patch is beginning to appear in some St. Augustine lawns. If circular spots begin to appear, use whole ground corn meal and spread around the outside of the circles and inside the area; this is an organic control. You can use an approved fungicide to control the fungus.

Lightly prune roses and feed granular rose food; one cup per bush. Follow two weeks later with a liquid fertilizer. Don’t feed after early October. This will prepare the roses for a burst of bloom in October.

Fall is for planting. You will hear this often in the following weeks. Trees, shrubs, and flowers are still in bloom and you have a choice of colors. Sales are very good now. This is one of the best times to purchase perennials. Most of the plants are still in color and you can give them a head start for next spring and summer. Take advantage of a friend’s offer of divided plants. These are tried and true for our area.

It’s time to plant Bluebonnets and Wildflowers; fall flowers, except pansies. The weather needs to cool more before planting pansies. Protect seedlings from pill bugs with bait and insecticide dust barriers. Keep soil moist until the seed germinates.

Image by madame.furie via Flickr

August didn’t break records like last year, but it seemed hotter. September will have several weeks of hot weather. Take precautions and water plants regularly, wear sunscreen and a hat, and drink lots of water. There is much to do before fall planting.

Clean the areas around fruit trees. Pick off any fruit that is still hanging on and pick up leftovers and ruined fruit from the ground, under the trees. Mulch the area under the trees to drip line. Don’t prune at this time. If the branches have scale infestation, they can be sprayed with summer oil sprays to prevent the infestation from getting worse. The next spraying will be during the winter.

I have pulled out several tomato plants and cut back a few that I think will continue to make fruit. Adding fertilizer and compost will help. If you still have fruit, you can try it.

Prepare the planting beds by ridding the area of weeds. Place several sheets of newspaper over the weeds, cover with fertilizer and compost, and continue to water it, which will help with the decomposition.

August: Things to do to prepare for fall gardens and landscapes.

1. Remove webworms from pecan and landscape trees, by trimming branches, or treat with Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt).

2. Pinch faded blooms from crape myrtle for more blooms. Don’t trim branches.

3. Set out transplants of fall vegetables; tomatoes, peppers, eggplant – provide afternoon shade.

4. Stop pinching asters, mums, blackberry canes, and poinsettias.

5. Thin iris. Share with friends or replant in full sun.
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6. Add a layer of compost to the vegetable garden before planting.

7. Prune roses, except climbers, for a profusion of blooms in the fall.

8. For spring flowers, sow seeds of larkspur, cornflower, California poppy, snapdragon, sweet alyssum, and wallflower. Tip: Save large salt shakers; fill with seeds to plant straight rows.

9. Sprinkle powdered detergent or ground cayenne pepper around sweet corn to keep raccoons away. Tip: To “silk” ears of corn, use a wet terrycloth wash cloth. It does a great job of removing the silk and doesn’t do any damage.

10. August is the latest you should wait to seed Bermuda. The grass seed must be kept wet until it germinates. Sometimes you must water it three times a day. If you have a large area, it is easier to place sod. It will cost you more in the beginning, but it is easier to keep sod wet than seed. Be sure to rent or borrow a roller filled with water; the roots need to be in contact with the soil.

11. Begin locating and purchasing wildflower seed. These should be planted in September and October. Remove weeds and rake the soil. The seed must be in contact with the soil. Don’t cover them; just rake the soil over the seed and walk on the seeded area.

12. If you need to move or plant palms, this is the time of year. They need to have warm weather to be planted or moved.

Did you enjoy the blooming ‘Green Cloud Senisa’ (sage) this past week? Everywhere you looked, there were lovely violet flowers. I was surprised that the white (regular) sage, the ones with the lavender blooms, had very few blooms. A long-time ‘tale’ is when the sage blooms, it will rain; very often, it does rain.

Lawns have been a real problem this spring and summer. Most folk lost grass due to the drought last summer and then the hardest freeze that we had in twenty years. Not only St. Augustine, but Bermuda and zoysia are affected.

Chinch bugs hit my yard for the first time. The infestation usually begin in areas near sidewalks or curbs, the hottest part of the lawn. The irregular dry patches are surrounded by yellowing, drying grass in spots, and patches. It increases rapidly.

To test for chinch bugs, cut the bottom out of a coffee can and push the can an inch into the grass, near the edge of a dead patch. Fill the can with water. If present, chinch bugs will float to the top.

Treat this infested area with insecticidal soap, like Safer soap or organic multi-purpose insecticide. Check with your favorite nursery and read the label before you purchase the item. It should have the insect listed before you can be certain it will kill the chinch bug.

Grub worms are also a problem. Cut out a 12 inch square of turf and if there are 5-10 grubs in this area, treat it the same as chinch bugs or apply beneficial nematodes (tiny worms that kill the grubs). The grubs attack St. Augustine, zoysia, Bermuda, and buffalo grass. If you can pick up a dead clump of grass, roots and all, you will have grub worms.

The best time for treatment is June and July, after the June bugs have laid their eggs. Keep this area well watered.

The Monarch butterflies have been visiting our area for three to four weeks.