The Dallas County Master Gardener Association, Inc. (DCMGA), a division of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, has released its Garden Task List for September.    

September is the time to fertilize warm season turf grasses for the final time this year, and apply a pre-emergent herbicide to control weeds over the winter. The DCMGA’s list of tasks also includes:    

Planting  

  • Plant beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cilantro, collards, bush English and snap peas, leaf lettuce, bush lima beans, onion seeds, parsley, radishes, spinach, and turnips for fall harvest. If you don’t plant a fall vegetable garden, sow Elbon rye as a winter cover crop. 
  • Plant chrysanthemums, asters, petunias, marigolds, and other fall color plants. 
  • Sow wildflower seeds and press into soil surface to improve germination. 
  • Plant cool season fescue grass (Sept. 1 to Oct. 15), or overseed established fescue lawns, if needed. If desired, overseed Bermuda with winter rye, before mid-October. 
  • Now is the time to start looking for that new tree you would like to plant this fall. 

Pruning  

  • Prune out any dead or broken branches of woody ornamentals (trees and shrubs) but avoid major pruning until the dormant season.  
  • Pinch off spent crape myrtle seeds to encourage new blooms and prune basal shoots to keep plant in tree form. This is necessary all-season long.  

See the Dallas County Master Gardener’s September Garden Tasks