October Gardening Advice and Tips

Generally October feels colder than previous months.  The trees now start to drop their leaves and the winds start to pick up.  It's worth raking the leaves up to make into a lovely leaf mulch.  It's also time to start preparing for frosts.

Jobs For October

• Achilleas - Sow seeds
• Apples need to be picked.  Twist and lift until they come off in your hand.
• Buddleia - cut back by a third to minimise root rock from strong winter winds.
• Bulbs - plant spring flowering bulbs now
• Catmint - Cut Back once flowers have finished (leave alone if you want to give ladybirds somewhere to hibernate)
• Catmint - divide older plants to invigorate new growth
• Compost - spread your homemade compost around the garden and dig in to help improve soil condition.
• Cranesbill geranium - plant
• Evergreens can be moved, the younger the better.
• Field Poppy - collect seeds
• Field Poppy - sow seeds on top of soil then rake.  Poppies like disturbed soil.  Keep some seeds back to be sown in Spring
• Garlic - plant garlic now, the bigger the bold the better.
• Hedges - Trim
• Hellebores - can plant any time of the year if available in garden centres
• Herbaceous Perennials - Move / plant / divide (Allium, lupins, oxeye daisy etc)
• Lavender - sow seeds
• Lawns - mow, lay turf, renovate or create new lawn
• Pears need to be pick.  Hold the pear in your hand, place a finger on the stem and left, if it ready it will just come away in your hand.  Store them in a cool dark place, and ripen on a window ledge when you want to eat them.
• Penstemons - cut back faded foliage by a third for winter
• Perennials - Cut back dead stems and leaves, leaving just enough to protect the base of the plant for winter.  (Leave if you want to encourage hibernating insects)
• Red valerian - once established - propagate it by division.  This technique can revitalise old plants, stopping the root system from becoming congested.  In autumn, when the flowers have faded, or in spring, when new shoots are just emerging, dig up the whole clump using a garden fork.  Shake off any surplus soil and use a spade or gardening knife cut the rootball into several segments, each with its own roots and stems.  Remove the woody centre of the plant.  Pot up any segments you want to give to friends and replant the remaining divisions in separate planting holes about the same size as the rootball.  Water in thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots.
• Rosemary - protect young plants
• Roses - prune climbing roses
• Salvia - mulch around the base of salvias to give them some winter protection.  If weather is going to get really cold, did them up and put them in pots in a warm location
• Seed heads - Start collecting seed heads, if they look ready to naturally spread seed then it's time to cut the seed head off and place in a paper bag.  Best done in the afternoon on a dry sunny day
• Tender plants - Move tender plants into greenhouses or conservatories
• Thyme - plant
• Thyme - protect tender thymes.  Layer old plants to create new ones
• Wallflowers - plant them now.  They need to get their roots established for spring flowering (biennials)
• Wallflowers - take cuttings from perennials
• Wild Flower Meadows - cut them back now and collect seeds.