September |
| • It's time to reapply 13-6-6 to plants that do not prefer an acid soil as ligustrum, red top, pittosporum, junipers, and oaks. Half of the nitrogen content should be water insoluble to release slowly over a long period. • Feed lawn with 26-4-9 or 28-2-6 also containing iron and other minor elements. Use a spreader and water well afterwards. • Stop fertilizing chrysanthemums when buds show color. • Continue fertilizing roses monthly. • Disbudding camellias now will result in larger blooms this winter. • Camellias produce two types of buds: Flower buds, which are flat and rounded, and leaf buds, which are pointed and slim. • To get the biggest flowers, remove most of the flower buds in each cluster, allowing only the largest one on a shoot to remain. • Prune scraggly shrubs (cosmetic pruning only); remove spent flower heads and seed pods. • Consider planting a ground cover in areas unsuitable for sod |