September is an exciting month in the garden. While North Carolina may still have plenty of warm days ahead, cooler mornings and shorter days are a reminder that fall is just around the corner. This transitional month is the perfect time to give your landscape a little extra attention, prepare for fall planting, and help your lawn and garden recover from the stress of summer.
Start Planning for Fall Planting
Fall is one of the best times of year to add trees, shrubs, and many perennials to your landscape. Cooler temperatures reduce stress on new plants, while the soil remains warm enough to encourage root development.
September is a great time to evaluate your landscape and decide where you may need additional shade, privacy, color, or structure. Planning now allows you to take advantage of the prime planting season as temperatures begin to cool.
Give Your Lawn Some Attention
After months of heat, humidity, and summer storms, lawns can look a little tired by September. Continue mowing as needed, but avoid cutting your grass too short. Leaving adequate leaf growth helps turf continue producing the energy it needs to stay healthy.
September is also a good time to look for thin areas, weeds, drainage problems, or other issues that may need to be addressed. If you have a cool-season lawn such as tall fescue, fall is an especially important season for seeding and renovation.
Keep Watering When Needed
Don’t put away the hose just yet! September can still bring stretches of hot, dry weather in the Fayetteville area. Established landscapes generally need less frequent watering as temperatures cool, but newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials still need consistent moisture while their roots become established.
Deep, thorough watering is typically better than frequent shallow watering because it encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil.
Clean Up—but Don’t Overdo It
September is a good time to remove diseased foliage, spent annuals, fallen branches, and other problem debris from your landscape. However, there’s no need to make every garden bed perfectly tidy.
Leaving some healthy plant material and seed heads through fall can provide food and habitat for birds and beneficial insects. A little natural texture can also add interest to the landscape as we move into the cooler months.
Refresh Your Mulch
Take a look at the mulch around your trees and landscape beds. If summer weather has washed it away or caused it to break down, September is a good time for a refresh.
A proper layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, regulate soil temperature, and give landscape beds a clean, finished appearance. Just remember to keep mulch away from the trunks of trees and the crowns of plants rather than piling it against them.
Think About Fall Color
Summer annuals may still be going strong, but now is the time to start thinking about your fall displays. As temperatures cool, seasonal favorites can bring fresh color to containers, entryways, and landscape beds.
September is also a great month to take note of areas where your landscape lacks fall interest. Adding plants with colorful foliage, berries, seed heads, or late-season blooms can help create a landscape that looks beautiful beyond spring and summer.
Take Advantage of the Fall Gardening Season
September is less about putting the garden to bed and more about preparing for what’s next. With cooler weather approaching, some of the best gardening and landscaping opportunities of the year are just beginning.
Whether you’re planning a new landscape, refreshing an existing bed, improving your lawn, or adding trees and shrubs this fall, the team at Green Biz Nursery & Landscaping is here to help. Call us today to schedule your free estimate!