mildew – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Pat’s 10 jobs for September 2025

1. Well at last the rain has arrived and is ready to drown all our plants! You may need to empty those saucers you put under pots for some of your more tender plants before they drown or rot…

2. This month and next is a good time to cut down and split many perennials ready for our sale at the Horn Fair on 19 October which soon comes round. I split sedum and Hesperantha the other day. I needed two forks back to back but made about fifteen plants! Check which plants are suitable for splitting in Autumn as some are better done in Spring.

3. Increase your supply of Pelargoniums by taking cuttings now below a leaf node. It also provides insurance for next year. We always love unusual varieties for the sales table if you can spare them.

This Aeonium will not like sitting in a saucer of water! — Don’t let your pots drown! Geranium clump ripe for division, and Pelargonium cuttings

A clump of Geranium macrorrhizum ready for division — Don’t let your pots drown! Geranium clump ripe for division, and Pelargonium cuttings

Pat’s Jobs for September 2024

1. Start ordering your bulbs now as all the bulb catalogues are arriving – though prices don’t stop going up!

2. Start planting bulbs when they arrive but save your tulips until later as they are prone to virus and rotting, and to theft by squirrels.

3. Divide large established clumps of perennials by cutting back first, then splitting either by hand or with two forks back to back. Delay if soil is heavy or too wet.

Split established clumps of perennials — Order Spring Bulbs

4. Replace tired summer bedding in pots and replant for winter and replenish with fresh compost.