The golden autumn holds many rewards for allotment gardeners, but also some tasks. The apples on the trees soak up the last warm rays of sunshine of the year and can soon be picked and eaten. The same applies to plums, plums and pears. Those who have taken good care of their fruit trees in spring and summer are now reaping the fruits of their labour. But winter is not far away. At the same time, it is important to slowly prepare the garden for the first frosty nights. Many lawns have suffered badly from the dry phases of the summer of 2022, some of which lasted weeks, the roses are fading and some hedges could use a last beauty trimming before the winter dormancy. There is a lot to do in the gardening month of September. In the following article we explain what is important now, what you should pay attention to and which devices you need for this.
No matter how profusely they bloomed over the summer, the fragrant flowers of the last bed roses dry up at the beginning of September. In order to bring the flowers of love safely through the cold autumn and winter days, you should soon pull out the rose scissors. If you don’t want to get painful scratches on your hands, wrists and forearms, you should put on rose gloves (here a Gardena model) before plunging into the prickly undergrowth. Compared to ordinary gardening gloves, they are reinforced on the fingers and palms and also have a longer shaft.
Before your roses slowly prepare for their well-deserved hibernation in autumn, you should carefully clean them. Cut off all dead flowers. Important: In the case of clusters, cut off the “withered” branch above the first leaf; in the case of individual flowers, the second leaf may also be removed. Why should wilted flowers be removed? This prevents new infructescence from forming, which would unnecessarily cost the plant energy. Be sure to use rose scissors or at least well-sharpened pruning shears. Unnecessary wounds at the interfaces are the perfect opportunity for germs and pathogens that damage the roses in the long term. Therefore, always cut roses with bypass scissors.
Apples are among the most popular types of fruit in Germany. And fall is the season when varieties like Elstar, Braeburn, Cox Orange
The lawns in Germany’s allotment gardens haven’t looked as sad as they did this summer for a long time. Hardly any rain, lots of sun. If something came down from the sky, it poured straight down like buckets and the ground didn’t have a chance to absorb the water. In other words: In many places, it’s not just the ground that’s bone dry. The stalks are burned and the lawn resembles a yellow-brown stubble field. The good news: Usually only the stalks die, the roots even survive longer periods of drought. A small downside: If you don’t water your lawn in summer, you’ll get more and more visits from lawn weeds, whose roots get into deeper and still moist areas of the soil. But how does the sad yellow become a rich green again? First you should try an autumn lawn fertilizer.
You can start the scarifier two weeks later at the earliest. It loosens dead stalks and leaves from the ground. You may leave large bare areas when scarifying your lawn. That’s not bad. Because that’s what lawn seeds are for. So take advantage of the opportunity in September to “mend” the holes in the green. If you live in a rather dry region, it is best to use dry-resistant lawn seeds (e.g. from Veddelholzer Garten). Important: After scarifying, collect the dried grass residue. Otherwise the overseeding has no chance to germinate. And another tip: stay away from long-term fertilizers! It is better to use something with a high potassium content. He strengthens the lawn and prepares it for the winter.
Tip: Here you will find a detailed article on the topic of sowing a lawn.
The hedge also goes into hibernation as soon as the temperatures drop noticeably at night. So treat her to a topiary in September. Important: The radical hedge trimming is prohibited throughout Germany until the end of September. You should also be careful when cutting to shape. Be aware of possible nesting sites for native birds. In addition, a late and too vigorous cut stimulates the growth of young shoots. However, they are not particularly cold-resistant and may not survive the first frosty nights. So only trim the hedge very moderately in September. Instead of using a cordless or electric hedge trimmer (here a model from Bosch), a manual hedge trimmer is ideal.
If you want to enjoy colorful and magnificent lilies or tulips in the front yard or your own allotment plot in spring, you should use September to plant the flower bulbs in the ground. It is important that the bulbs are planted in soil that is as permeable as possible. On very heavy soils, gravel helps to loosen the subsoil a little. The bulbs of lilies and tulips tend to rot if the soil is too wet. Some gravel or coarse building sand can prevent this. Scatter the gravel before planting in the planting hole. In the case of tulips in particular, you should wait until the middle/end of September before planting (and order or buy them accordingly later). Some mouse species prefer to dig up these in order to eat them. The colder it gets, the less active the voracious rodents are.
Rule of thumb for planting: Plant the bulbs about twice as deep in the ground as they are high. Means: A five centimeter high tulip bulb belongs in a planting hole about ten centimeters deep.
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