Gardening Guides
Great Lakes Gardener's September Checklist
Watching wildlife, gathering leaves and watching a rainbow of roses and asters are high priorities in Great Lakes gardens this month
It's finally September, and the best weather of the year is at hand for Great Lakes gardeners. With the humidity dropping and the temperature moderating, we've got the perfect environment for outdoor activities. Summer garden visitors are beginning to drift southward in their fall migration, and many of us are finally feeling like tackling all those garden chores we put off during the heat of summer. September is also a great time for wildlife watching — monarch butterflies and hummingbirds may be making pit stops in your garden. And the landscape is reviving with repeat blooms and the vanguard of autumn bloomers. Let's dig in.
Collect leaves. The leaves may begin falling earlier this year because of the drought. Don't give those leaves away — chop them up, put them in a pile and make leaf mold. It's a great soil conditioner and the optimum top dressing for woodland plants.
Revive lawns. If your lawn sports dead patches courtesy of the drought, September is the optimum time to rejuvenate it by sowing grass seed. By November the lawn should be lush and green again.
Plant perennials. September is also the perfect time to plant perennials and woody plants. It used to be that spring was the best time to plant in Great Lakes gardens, but gardeners are discovering that with unreliable moisture and often unbearable summer heat, new plants do better under the less harsh conditions of autumn. By planting in September, the gardener is guaranteed that the new plants will have sufficient time to become established before winter.
Revive lawns. If your lawn sports dead patches courtesy of the drought, September is the optimum time to rejuvenate it by sowing grass seed. By November the lawn should be lush and green again.
Plant perennials. September is also the perfect time to plant perennials and woody plants. It used to be that spring was the best time to plant in Great Lakes gardens, but gardeners are discovering that with unreliable moisture and often unbearable summer heat, new plants do better under the less harsh conditions of autumn. By planting in September, the gardener is guaranteed that the new plants will have sufficient time to become established before winter.
Replace container gardens. It's time to refresh sad, tired containers. Here, Petunia 'Phantom' blooms with a small sedum, 'Razzleberry' and a small zinnia. Pansies and pumpkins are also good replacements for worn-out summer annuals.
See 8 knockout flowers for a fall container garden
See 8 knockout flowers for a fall container garden
While ornamental cabbage is a fall standard, edible cabbage is equally attractive.
Enjoy September blooms. Here come the autumn-blooming plants. With the cooler temperatures, many perennials that played dead during the heat of summer will enjoy a fresh crop of blooms in September. Dianthus 'Cranberry Ice' reliably reblooms with its neighbor here, a lavender (Lavandula angustifolia).
Roses, such as 'Carefree Beauty', and dahlias bring forth perfect blooms after the demise of Japanese beetles for the year.
Caryopteris incana 'Jason' (Sunshine Blue) is a bee magnet in September. Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Janice' (Little Miss Sunshine) is similar yet more compact. While Caryopteris is classified as a die-back shrub in zone 5, many Great Lakes gardeners find that it survives the winter just fine with adequate snow cover. Even if it dies back after a winter, by the following September it will be back and full of blooms.
Just when the perennial garden most needs a shot of freshness and color, the asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Honeysong Pink' and S. laeve 'Bluebird') are unfurling their daisy-like blooms in vibrant colors. By placing New England asters behind shorter plants, you can hide their ugly legs.
Asters aren’t the only native prairie plants to shine in September. All the prairie grasses — such as Indian grass (Sorgastrum nutans), seen growing here with Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) — turn vibrant colors.
In a September shade garden, Japanese anemones (here Anemone 'Andrea Atkinson') are queen, reaching over 5 feet in a year with good moisture.
Few things beat the strong, sweet scent of the fall-blooming Cimicifugas (Actea simplex 'Black Negligee'). A good stand of them perfumes the whole garden.
Now get out in the garden while the weather's good. We all know it isn't going to last.
Now get out in the garden while the weather's good. We all know it isn't going to last.
After taking time to enjoy garden visitors, it's on to getting things done in the garden.