Gardening tips by month
September gardening tips: what to prune, feed & protect
A September garden checklist built from our plant care guides. Garden jobs depend on your local frost dates, so tasks are grouped for cold, moderate and mild climates. Find yours below, then tap any plant for full step-by-step instructions.
September in cold winters (zones 3–5)
Pruning in September
- Black-eyed Susan: deadhead for more flowers (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Blackberry: remove fruited canes after harvest (Aug 30 – Sep 27)
- Butterfly bush: deadhead through summer (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Coneflower: deadhead for more flowers (Aug 23 – Sep 6)
- Daylily: refresh tired foliage (rebloomers) (Aug 16 – Sep 6)
- Daylily: deadhead for more flowers (Aug 23 – Sep 6)
- Hazelnut / filbert: remove suckers (Sep 27 – Oct 11)
- Hybrid tea rose: stop deadheading, let hips form (Aug 20 – Sep 3)
- Kiwi vine: summer pruning (Sep 13–27)
- Raspberry: remove fruited canes after summer harvest (Aug 16 – Sep 13)
- Rose of Sharon: remove seed pods (Aug 20 – Sep 17)
- Tomato: top the plants for the final crop (Aug 27 – Sep 3)
Fertilizing in September
- Hybrid tea rose: feed roses (Aug 23 – Sep 6)
Spraying & disease prevention in September
- Hybrid tea rose: preventive spray for black spot (Sep 6–13)
- Tomato: preventive spray for early blight (Aug 30 – Sep 6)
Frost & winter protection in September
- Arborvitae: deep-water before the ground freezes (Sep 24 – Oct 29)
- Boxwood: deep-water before the ground freezes (Sep 24 – Oct 29)
- Grapevine: net ripening clusters (Aug 16 – Sep 13)
- Rhododendron: deep-water before the ground freezes (Sep 24 – Oct 29)
Other care in September
- Chestnut tree: harvest chestnuts (Aug 20 – Sep 24)
- Daylily: divide crowded clumps (every 3–4 years) (Aug 20 – Sep 10)
- Hazelnut / filbert: harvest hazelnuts (Aug 6 – Sep 10)
- Kiwi vine: harvest kiwis (Aug 20 – Oct 1)
- Pecan tree: harvest pecans (Sep 17 – Nov 12)
- Persimmon: harvest persimmons (Sep 3 – Oct 29)
- Quince: harvest quince (Sep 3 – Oct 1)
- Shrub / landscape rose: check for rose rosette disease (Sep 13–27)
- Walnut tree: harvest walnuts (Aug 20 – Oct 1)
September in moderate winters (zones 6–7)
Pruning in September
- Almond tree: main prune after harvest (Aug 16 – Sep 13)
- Blackberry: remove fruited canes after harvest (Aug 5 – Sep 2)
- Butterfly bush: deadhead through summer (Sep 2–16)
- Hazelnut / filbert: remove suckers (Sep 2–16)
- Hybrid tea rose: stop deadheading, let hips form (Sep 13–27)
- Kiwi vine: summer pruning (Aug 19 – Sep 2)
- Rose of Sharon: remove seed pods (Sep 13 – Oct 11)
- Tomato: top the plants for the final crop (Sep 20–27)
Fertilizing in September
- Azalea: stop fertilizing for the season (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Bigleaf hydrangea: stop fertilizing for the season (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Climbing rose: stop fertilizing for the season (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Hybrid tea rose: stop fertilizing for the season (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Panicle hydrangea: stop fertilizing for the season (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
- Shrub / landscape rose: stop fertilizing for the season (Aug 30 – Sep 13)
Spraying & disease prevention in September
- Tangerine / mandarin: check for scale, mealybugs and aphids (Sep 16–30)
Other care in September
- Asian pear: harvest Asian pears (Aug 2 – Sep 13)
- Chestnut tree: harvest chestnuts (Sep 13 – Oct 18)
- Daylily: divide crowded clumps (every 3–4 years) (Sep 13 – Oct 4)
- Hazelnut / filbert: harvest hazelnuts (Aug 30 – Oct 4)
- Kiwi vine: harvest kiwis (Sep 13 – Oct 25)
- Pecan tree: water during nut fill (Aug 2 – Sep 13)
- Persimmon: harvest persimmons (Sep 27 – Nov 22)
- Pomegranate: water evenly as fruit swells (Jul 19 – Sep 13)
- Pomegranate: harvest pomegranates (Sep 13 – Oct 18)
- Quince: harvest quince (Sep 27 – Oct 25)
- Shrub / landscape rose: check for rose rosette disease (Aug 19 – Sep 2)
- Walnut tree: harvest walnuts (Sep 13 – Oct 25)
September in mild winters (zones 8–10)
Pruning in September
- Almond tree: main prune after harvest (Sep 22 – Oct 20)
Fertilizing in September
- Macadamia: low-phosphorus feeding (Aug 26 – Sep 9)
Spraying & disease prevention in September
- Walnut tree: husk fly protection (if needed) (Aug 25 – Sep 8)
Other care in September
- Almond tree: harvest almonds (Sep 8 – Oct 6)
- Asian pear: harvest Asian pears (Sep 8 – Oct 20)
- Bearded iris: divide crowded clumps (every 3–5 years) (Sep 8 – Oct 6)
- Pecan tree: water during nut fill (Sep 8 – Oct 20)
- Pistachio tree: harvest pistachios (Sep 8 – Oct 6)
- Pomegranate: water evenly as fruit swells (Aug 25 – Oct 20)