Do no harm
You can make a lot of mistakes in the garden this time of year: broadcasting 10-10-10 fertilizer over a parched lawn, chopping back hydrangeas from a walkway along with next summer’s bloom, whisking away valuable leaves, weeds and clippings during fall clean-up as though they were dirt on a carpet.
Before tearing off in a frenzy of tidying as the seasons change, take a good look around. Plants are stressed. Last month’s column noted our little respite from drought, but just a few weeks without regular rainfall has withered the landscape. For the first time in 20 years, I ran dry our spring-fed cistern watering sagging tomatoes and newly planted perennials.
 Some hydrangeas bloom in summer on new wood produced each spring, while others carry flower buds on wood that winters over. |
The ground has little resources now and regardless of public regulations, it’s time to conserve all the grey water you can (showers, dishes, laundry, dogs’ bowls). Although garden calendars recommend September for fertilizing lawns, chemical salts in petroleum-based fertilizers will burn already stressed grass that’s starved for moisture. Let it go dormant and save precious water for woodies and perennials planted earlier in the season.
Like lawn lovers, hydrangeas can lose their heads this time of year. Thriving with abundant water, they are drought resistant and long-lived once established and can survive almost any hatchet job, but the gardener becomes distressed with repeated loss of flowers due to misguided fall trimming and would be well advised to learn which type he or she has.
Some bloom in summer on new wood produced each spring (white flowered “Pee Gee” and “Tardiva”) while others carry flower buds on wood that winters over (old-fashioned blues and pinks like “Nikko Blue” and “Glowing Embers”). It used to be only the blues and pinks bloomed on old wood, so it was easy to tell to leave them alone in the fall. But nurseries work full time to give the plant lover ever more choices and now there are new blues like “All Summer Beauty” and “Penny Mac” that flower on new wood.
Confused yet?
If you’ve saved the tag from the nursery, you’re ahead of the game, but if you’re unsure which type you have, just leave it alone. If it blooms on old wood, it will flower beautifully next summer and you can give it a trim immediately afterwards. If it’s a new wood flowerer, you’ll see new whips of branches before it blooms. These types enjoy a haircut each March (or September, if you just can’t help it) to keep them compact and encourage more flower-bearing wood, but will keep growing and blooming on their own even if you don’t prune them.
Benign neglect goes a long way in the garden. It certainly does in mine.
So if we’re supposed to hold off on pruning and it’s too dry to water or fertilize or plant anything new, what’s left? Recycle lawn clippings, kitchen waste, old potting soil and green stuff to the compost pile. Fork it over, add some gray water. Fill a chicken wire cylinder with leaves for crumbly leaf mold next spring. The more organics you add as mulch or amendment, the more moisture the soil can hold.
Native wildflowers bloom in low spots along my country road even in this droughty September. Years of growth and decay have created a self-sustaining habitat that feeds the late pollinators. Monarchs and hummingbirds heading south sup with local bees and wasps on patches of purple ironweed punctuated with cloudy Joe Pye that towers 5’ and more, nodding heavy lavender heads over pale orange jewel weed. Nature, whose mistakes don’t last long, is always the guide in the garden.-Cathy Clary
Train the dragon
There are five different available varieties of the Madagascar dragon tree (dracaena), all with long, narrow spiky foliage in varying shades of green, white, pink and reds. Sizes also vary, from small starter plants to mature 20-footers.
 Dragon Tree |
Dragon Trees are easy and straightforward to care for, preferring only moderate light and moderate watering. However, they have a particular aversion to fertilizer. Basically they are happiest to just be left alone.
You can get creative with your Dragon Tree by training it into a variety of shapes, rather than simply growing straight up. It’s rather like a big bonsai. And don’t be alarmed if they frequently shed their bottom leaves—it’s just something they do.-Lily Robertson
September in the garden
-Don’t prune the hydrangeas!
-Continue composting.
-Let grass go dormant.