Winter flower garden in southern Arizona
The list of to do’s for the desert September gardener can be rather involved. However, the results of your work will be apparent when the weather cools and your plants begin to shine.
Weed control: Toward the end of September or the beginning of October I apply a pre-emergent to control the germination of weeds. These products work very well to control weeds before they even grow. I use a product called SURFLAN XL. It must be applied before the weeds emerge. This product will not kill weeds that have already emerged. Once they have started growing it is too late.
Fertilizer: All the plants should be fertilized sometime during September. Citrus should be given fertilizer toward the middle or end of the month. If you have several citrus trees it would be worth using a special citrus food according to the directions. If you have just a couple of trees general purpose fertilizer will work very well. Shrubs and trees should be fed with a good general purpose fertilizer used as directed. You will find that both John Deere and Horizon have a great supply of these fertilizers.
Trimming and pruning: As the temperature cools down below the hundreds it is a good time to prune the plants and ground covers. The plants that have stressed from all the hot days will recover very well if they are pruned back lightly. This involves taking as little as a few inches off the tips of the plant to cutting up to 1/3 of the plant off in extreme cases. Prune to shape or to control the size. Plants tend to respond to pruning by re-growing and with the fresh fertilizer you’ve just applied.
Watering systems: The watering system will need to be cut back from the summer setting. Not too fast, however. Wait until the 100 degree days are over before you begin to decrease the watering frequency. There is no magic date here in the valley as to when this day will happen. The recommended fall settings for your drip system on established yards is as follows: trees 2.5 hours every seven days, shrubs 1.5 hours every four days, pots or flowers 10 to 15 minutes every two days.
Winter annuals and flowers: As soon as you see the winter annual flowers in the nurseries, get them planted. The sooner you pull the summer annuals and get the winter ones started, the faster they’ll get growing. The problem I have is the summer annuals look so good I hate to dig them up. Trust me; I am glad every year that I start the new ones. This should keep you busy for a little bit while you wait for the overseeded golf course to reopen. Good luck and get busy. Stay tuned for the later fall list.