September Garden Guide

Note: This is general information for the entire state of Arkansas on what to plant in your garden in September. For specific questions about planting in your area, please reach out to your local county agent.

September marks our first little taste of autumn, although most of the month will likely be hot and dry. Gear up for fall by starting your fall garden, decorating with mums and pumpkins, and adding more flowers to your flowerbed!

Garden Chores for September

This month we transition from our summer gardens into cool season-mode. Check out what chores we recommend doing this month:

It's time to clean your compost unit! Fall leaves are coming soon.

Monitor rainfall and water plants accordingly.
Scout for pests.
Replenish mulch, as needed, particularly around trees and shrubs.
Clean out compost unit. Move compost into storage such as a trash bin to use for your fall gardening, then clean out the empty unit to prepare for fall garden waste. Thinking of starting a compost pile? Learn all about composting!
Rake leaves as they fall and add to your freshly cleaned compost unit.
As your warm-season vegetables are dying back, replace them with cool-season vegetables.
Cut back perennials as they die back. They are going dormant and will likely return in the spring.
Dig and divide spring-blooming perennials if you have not already done so.
Save seeds for next year.
Collect soil samples and send them off to your local county office for lab testing if you have not done so recently. If your report calls for lime to reduce acidity, apply it in the fall to give it time to incorporate into soil before spring.
Lightly fertilize summer annuals and flowering tropical plants, particularly if they are in containers.
Avoid fertilizing/heavily pruning shrubs at this time as this will encourage regrowth that will not have time to harden off before winter.

Moving Houseplants Inside for the Winter

This month is when we can begin acclimating our houseplants that have been spending the warmer months outdoors to go back inside during the winter. If we move our plants directly indoors, they are much more likely to experience a shock from the changing environment and may be harmed or even die.

To avoid this, we acclimate. Keep an eye on the dropping temperatures, and when it begins cooling off toward the end of this month or next month, find a somewhat shadier spot to move your plant to. This incremental approach will allow the plant some time to get used to the lack of sun.

After a couple weeks, move the plant to an even shadier spot and let it acclimate there for a bit. Once your plant has been acclimating to less and less sun, you can move it indoors.

September Vegetable Planting Guide

September Planting Guide for social media

Download the September Planting Guide!

Trade your warm-season veg for cool-season! Below are the vegetables we recommend planting in your garden this month:

Seed carrots, lettuce, spinach, kale, and other greens.

September Flower Planting Guide

While there are plenty of ornamentals you can plant this month, be sure to only do so after the weather begins cooling off a bit. Ornamentals we recommend planting include:

Pansies
Marigolds
Snapdragons
Dianthus
Dusty miller (silver ragwort)
Ornamental peppers
Ornamental kale
Ornamental mustard
Ornamental cabbage
Chelone (turtlehead)
Tricyrtis (toad lilies)
Japanese anemones
Goldenrod
Aster
Salvia

Spring bulbs will be available in stores this month, but avoid planting them until October or November. Plant pansies by mid-October for best performance. Decorate with mums, and lightly fertilize and water them consistently.

Christmas cactus initiates its flower buds by being exposed to cool nights, so you can move your cactus outdoors into indirect sunlight. Give it one more feeding of houseplant fertilizer and limit the amount you water it while it is outdoors. This will encourage bloom in the late fall/early winter. When there is danger of frost, bring the cactus back indoors and place in a well-lit area.

In Bloom in September

coneflower (echinacea)

Coneflower

gaillardia (blanket flower)

Gaillardia

goldenrod

Goldenrod

bunch of purple aster flowers

Aster

pink chelone flowers

Chelone

bright pink japanese anemones

Japanese Anemone

field of yellow rudbeckia flowers

Rudbeckia

deep purple salvia flowers

Salvia

pink and white spotted toad lily

Toad Lily

The Arkansas Garden is a blog created by horticulture specialist Randy Forst and social media manager Melissa Johnson for home gardeners and Master Gardeners. Check out our Monthly Garden Guides and other blogposts! Ready to up your gardening game? Consider becoming an Arkansas Master Gardener!