MONTY DON has shared an essential job gardening fans should do now to ensure plants survive the winter.
The Gardener’s World star, 69, revealed that autumn is the perfect month to dig up and relocate some plants, before the colder weather hits.
Monty revealed that herbaceous perennials should be moved to sunnier locations in September, to ensure stronger growth in the spring.
The gardening icon explained: “September is a good month for moving herbaceous perennials.
“By doing this when they are in full flower, you can clearly see how they will look in their new position and how they relate to the other planting around them.”
Moving perennials at this time of year allows their roots to become established before winter, to allow them to grow more vigorously next year.
An example of a herbaceous perennial is a peony or a delphiniam.
These plants die each year, but re-grow during the spring.
Gardeners should cut back the plants after relocating them, to allow them to recover from the disruption.
Monty said: “It is a good idea to cut them back so that the plant has a rest and can recover from the trauma of being uprooted.”
And relocating perennials isn’t the only job gardeners should be getting up to this September.
Monty revealed that the buds of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons are forming at the moment, so it is important to take care of them now to make sure they bloom in the spring.
Camellias, Azaleas and rhododendrons form their flower buds in late Summer and Autumn,” he said.
These three plants must be watered adequately, or their buds will not develop correctly.
Monty said: “The display they provide next spring is largely determined over the coming weeks.
With September starting, so does autumn, and The Sun's Gardening Editor Veronica Lorraine has a few tasks to keep you busy as the summer sun winds down.
1. Starting thinking about Spring bulbs
Its early bulb time! As well as the more traditional daffodils, crocuses, alliums and bluebells, try snake-head fratillaries for something slightly different.
2. Remember the bees
Make sure you’re still looking after the bees with autumn flowering pollinators – like sedums, honeysuckle and asters.
3. Dig and enjoy your potatoes
Maincrop potatoes are ready to dig up – make sure you get them all so they don’t get slug damage.
4. Change your lawn mowing schedule
Raise the height of your lawn mower and start to reduce the amount of mowing you do. GIve it an autumn feed, especially if you didn’t get round to it in Summer and start to rake to remove thatch.
5. Plant out new perennials while the soil is still warm.
6. Take salvia cuttings
It’s as easy as cutting a shoot tip above a node and chucking it in a glass of water to see if it sprouts roots. Especially with tender Salvias which wont survive the winter.
7. Keep camelias well watered to make sure that buds form next year.
8. Keep on deadheading and watering your hanging baskets
They should keep going until the first frosts.
9. Get pumpkins Halloween ready
Remove any leaves shading pumpkins to make sure they’ll be ready for halloween – and make sure you keep watering them, they’re very thirsty.
10. Check on your pond
Net your pond to stop it filling with fallen leaves when the trees start to drop.
“If they are too dry, the buds will not form properly and those that do often drop off in the Spring before flowering due to dehydration the previous Autumn.”
He added that it is more beneficial to use rainwater, especially for potted plants.
“Give them a good soak – with rainwater if at all possible – especially if they are growing in a container, and do so each week for the next couple of months”, Monty explained.
The gardening pro added that there are some bulbs which can be planted now, to ensure that they bloom in the spring.
However, he noted that the ground is too hard for them to be planted straight in to, so recommended planting them in pots instead.
Monty said that the bulbs he plants at this time of year are crocus, daffodils, reticulate irises, muscari and scillas.
It is important to plant these plants now as they flower earlier.
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