Gardening This Weekend: September 11, 2025
Here are the mid-September things to achieve in your landscape and garden.
PLANT
• Bermuda sod soon so it can establish good roots before winter. It would be best to wait until spring to plant zoysia and St. Augustine.
• Ryegrass if you intend to overseed warm-season grass for winter green turf, also if you need to cover bare ground to prevent mud.
• Nursery stock as fall sales appear. This is the best time of the year for planting, with the exception of types known to be winter-tender in your area.
• Bluebonnet and other spring wildflower seeds into lightly tilled soil. Do not plant where grass will compete, nor where you have applied pre-emergent weedkiller granules.
• Dig and divide bearded iris rhizomes. Replant within a day or two into freshly prepared garden soil. Give extra plants to friends. Do not crowd them back into the old bed.
PRUNE
• Old flower and seed stalks from perennials to keep garden tidy (unless they will provide seeds for birds – see Diane Sitton’s story this issue).
• Dead branches from shrubs and trees while you can easily distinguish them.
• Continue mowing at same height until frost. Use mowing to keep fallen leaves picked up off lawn.
FERTILIZE
• Turfgrass with high-quality, all-nitrogen fertilizer. 30 to 40 percent of the nitrogen should be in slow-release form.
• High-nitrogen fertilizer to fall flower and vegetable plantings to keep them vigorous through fall.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Ragweed plants on untended property adjacent to your home. Keep them cut down to prevent allergies.
• Inspect patio pots and hanging baskets for signs of insect problems. Treat them while they’re still outdoors if you intend to bring them into the house or greenhouse over the winter.
• Unfriendly visitors to fall landscape and garden. Snakes, stinging caterpillars, and yellowjacket nests can be hiding where you least expect them. Wear gloves and turn things over using a long-handled hoe or spading fork. Watch for the insects in shrubs and low trees. Yellowjackets are very aggressive. Note: propellants used with wasp and hornet sprays will burn and kill foliage. Use them with precision to minimize damage.