September is a busy month, we are selling our autumn plants and potting our spring flowering plants, primroses and bulbs.

Time to look after our cyclamen, our cyclamen are in full flower and need regular deadheading

Poinsettias growing ready for Christmas, our poinsettias have developed a nice shape, ready for spacing. We use some black out screens to shorten the days, now we can have some early poinsettias.

The Garden mums are starting to flower, our Belgian garden mums are so naturally neat and tidy, covered in masses of flowers.

Just potted

Our autumn violas are in full flower, we pot them in batches as they grow so quickly.

Our last delivery of primroses arrive, they will flower in the spring from February until late March

Autumn bulbs, snowdrops and narcissus arrive we try to pot them as soon as possible, and the roots appear almost immediately. If you grow them in pots, they can be used in the house, planters or hanging baskets.

Pests and diseases

Mildews often appear during the autumn, they like the autumn weather and can quickly cover the leaves in a white coat (powdery mildew) or under the leaves (downy mildew). This can be severe enough to stop the plant from growing and you might need to consider spraying your plants. Mildews have favourites and don’t normally spread, a pansy or viola mildew won’t spread to chrysanthemum for instance so only spray if you have to.
There are some safe mildew chemicals the secret is to use them quickly at the first sign of disease. Given cool wet conditions, viola and pansy downy mildew, can spread very fast and can be difficult to stop.

Powdery mildew likes warm dry weather and a spell of rain can stop it from spreading.

Aphids, Whiteflies and Red spider mites love warm autumn weather but the shortening days will make them think about hibernating, treating them early is essential, to reduce the numbers that overwinter, sticky traps are a good early warning system

Tips and tricks from the Nursery

Greenhouses need clean glass to make the best of the autumn sun, it also helps to get rid of pests and diseases, in the autumn we try to clean the glass ready for the winter.

Start planting your autumn and winter pots and baskets We have started to make winter baskets and planters for our commercial customers they have time to grow before we replace the summer displays

Time for some maintenance ready for the winter, the boiler is checked over ready for the winter and any leaks found and fixed. This is also a good time to repair any broken or slipped glass, making your greenhouse airtight can reduce your heating costs.