- Cordyline
- Lilies
- Drying Hydrangeas
- Amaryllis belladonna
- Succulents
- Bamboo
- Taking semi-ripe cuttings
- Echiums
Pruning Cordyline
Lilies
Lilies which have been grown in pots should have their seed heads removed once the petals have all dropped.
The bulbs will waste a great deal of energy developing large seed heads and, if left in place, you may only get a small insipid flower or none at all next year.
Drying Hydrangeas
Hydrangea flowers start to change colour prior to going dormant and brown. White hydrangeas take on a greenish hue while some of the blues take on purple streaks. If you cut these flowers and hang them upside down to dry out slowly these colours will be retained. An excellent flower arrangement for the winter.
Amaryllis
Amaryllis belladonna and Nerine bulbs spring into flower as the harbingers of Autumn. They have no leaves at this time of the year so the flower spikes are a surprise. The bulbs tend to rise up to the surface and can be split and divided after flowering every few years. The bulbs are tenderish so a Winter mulching is advisable.
Succulents
Succulents in containers which have been outside all Summer e.g. Aeoniums, Echeverias and Agaves should be either moved into a frost free greenhouse or “snuggled” up in a sunny sheltered spot in the garden, out of prevailing cold winds.As a precaution losses in a severe Winter you can take off some offsets or cuttings and pot in small pots of gritty free draining compost and keep indoors on windowsills.
Bamboo
Taking semi-ripe cuttings
Taking semi-ripe cuttings in September is a great way to propagate more plants. This can successful for : Plumbago, fuchsia, kerria, roses, weigela.
Echiums
Echiums will be finishing flowering now and setting seed. The old flower stalks may be up to 6 feet tall and slowly go black and die off. Do not be in too great a hurry to cut them down and remove them because they self sow seed copiously as the plants die. Echiums are biennial plants and die after flowering in the second year but will self regenerate themselves very easily.