Garden Planner: Sept/Oct 2005

Your September/October Gardening Checklist
Fall in the Dallas area is unpredictable. Temperatures soar as high as 108 degrees in September and plummet to 24 in October. But one thing is certain: the end of summer is in sight and now is a great time to work in the garden. Just remember the sunscreen and a sweater “you’re going to need them both.

September

 Plant fall vegetables and strawberries.

 Sow larkspur, poppy, alyssum, pansy, hollyhock, cornflower, candytuft, petunia, stock, and Sweet William seed.

 Divide and replant iris, canna, Shasta daisies, violets, and daylilies.

 Lightly feed tomato, pepper, and eggplant plants with Fertilome Tomato and Vegetable Food or the organic Medina Hasta-Gro Liquid Feed.

 Watch for brown patch on St. Augustine lawns and treat with Alliance Horticultural Cornmeal if necessary.

 Fertilize lawns between the 1st and the 15th. Try North Haven Gardens 21-7-14 custom-blend lawn fertilizer or Maestro Gro Texas Tee 6-2-4 for an organic option.

October

 Continue to sow larkspur, poppy, and hollyhock seeds.

 Plant spring blooming perennials now for strong, fuller plants next spring.

 Plant spinach, parsley, carrots, radishes, and greens.

 Sow Bermuda onion seeds and your first planting of English peas.

 Plant hardy amaryllis, crocus, and Muscari bulbs.

 Plant pansy, snapdragon, flowering kale, and dianthus plants.

 Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials.

 Dig and store caladium tubers.

 Feed fall-blooming perennials. Try Maestro Gro Rose Glo 6-8-4 fertilizer. (Even though it says it is for roses, it works on a variety of plants.) 

 Select tulip and hyacinth bulbs and refrigerate for four to six weeks before planting.

Specific brands for products listed on this page are available at North Haven Gardens, 7700 Northaven Rd., 214-363-5316.

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The Numbers

September Average high: 87.7 Average low:  67.2 Average rainfall:  2.42 in. October  Average high:  77.9 Average low:  56.4 Average rainfall:  4.11 in.