What to Do in Your Central Texas Garden (Sept. 1–15): Stop Pruning, Start Planting
Welcome back to the ATXGardens Podcast! Early September marks the beginning of one of the best gardening seasons in Central Texas. As temperatures begin to cool and fall planting season approaches, it's time to start planting trees, shrubs, perennials, vegetables, herbs, and wildflowers while also preparing your landscape for the months ahead. In this episode, Colleen shares practical tips for planting and watering new trees, caring for fruit trees, dividing perennials, building raised garden beds, starting your fall vegetable garden, and preserving local fruit trees through the Fruit Savers BioBlitz.
🌳 Planting Trees & Shrubs This Fall
September is the beginning of tree planting season in Central Texas. While Colleen generally recommends waiting until around September 15 to plant trees and shrubs, cooler temperatures, cloudy days, or rain can provide an opportunity to plant a little earlier.
Tips for Planting New Trees
Look for end-of-season nursery sales.
Choose the right shovel for planting larger trees.
Use tree irrigation bags for 10–20 gallon trees.
Water new trees based on container size (roughly one gallon of water per gallon of tree size each week).
A simple five-gallon bucket works well for watering smaller trees.
✂️ Stop Pruning Woody Plants
As plants begin preparing for dormancy, it's time to put the pruning tools away.
Avoid pruning:
Trees
Shrubs
Roses
Woody vines
Oak trees
Pruning now encourages tender new growth that may be damaged by the first freeze. Waiting until late fall or winter helps protect plant health and reduces the risk of spreading oak wilt.
Gardening for Wildlife
Colleen also shares a listener tip about leaving dense shrubs and lower branches intact to provide valuable habitat and shelter for birds and other wildlife.
🍐 Fruit Tree Care & Fall Grafting
September brings another opportunity to care for fruit trees and expand your orchard.
Harvest Time
Check on:
Orient pears
Pink Lady apples
Other late-ripening fruit
If heirloom pears stay hard on the tree, harvest them and allow them to ripen indoors.
Fall Fruit Tree Care
Feed trees with organic fertilizer based on soil test results.
Improve soil with compost and organic amendments.
Begin grafting citrus, figs, pomegranates, and loquats.
Root Meyer lemon cuttings using propagation mix and rooting hormone.
🌼 Plant Perennials, Bulbs & Ornamental Grasses
As nighttime temperatures begin dropping below 75°F, many ornamentals can safely be planted again.
Now Is a Great Time To:
Plant perennials
Divide established plants
Transplant bulbs
Add ornamental grasses
Improve soil with compost, worm castings, biochar, or mycorrhizal products
Divide Bearded Irises
Colleen explains how dividing older iris rhizomes every few years can improve blooming and keep plants healthy.
🌿 Landscape Consultation Spotlight
This week's client story features a homeowner who wanted to replace a struggling lawn with native plants but felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice online.
Colleen explains how personalized landscape consultations help homeowners create a practical plan that fits their unique property and goals.
🥕 Build a Raised Bed Garden
Continuing her series on building vegetable gardens, Colleen focuses this episode on raised beds.
Benefits of Raised Beds
Ideal for shallow or rocky soils
Easier on your back and knees
Cleaner, more organized gardens
Better for difficult sites
Recommended Materials
Cedar lumber
Natural stone
Metal raised beds
Recycled logs
Gabions
She also discusses materials many gardeners prefer to avoid, including treated lumber, railroad ties, landscape fabric, tires, and cinder blocks due to concerns about chemical leaching.
🥬 September Vegetable Planting Guide
Early September is one of Colleen's favorite times to plant vegetables.
Warm-Season Crops
Plant now:
Beans
Lima beans
Cucumbers
Summer squash
Zucchini
Tatume squash
Choose varieties that mature within about 80 days to ensure a harvest before the first freeze.
Cool-Season Crops
If cooler weather arrives, you can begin planting:
Peas
Radishes
Carrots
Swiss chard
Kale
Bok choy
Turnips
Mustard
Kohlrabi
Multiplying onions
Artichokes
Cardoons
Adding shade cloth can help young seedlings establish during lingering heat.
🌿 Herb Garden & Fall Flowers
September is a transition season in the herb garden.
Continue Planting
Basil
Cilantro
Dill
Parsley
Calendula
Borage
Plant Perennial Herbs
Garlic chives
Oregano
Mint
Lemon balm
Sage
Tarragon
Mexican mint marigold
Fast-growing flowers like sunflowers, zinnias, and celosia can also still be planted for blooms before frost.
🌸 Time to Plant Wildflowers
September and October are the best months to prepare for spring wildflowers.
Now is the time to:
Order seeds
Visit local seed libraries
Gather seeds from friends
Prepare for bluebonnet planting
Colleen teases her tried-and-true bluebonnet planting method coming in the next episode.
🌱 September Lawn Care Tips
If you have turfgrass, early fall is another opportunity to strengthen your lawn.
Recommended Tasks
Apply a slow-release organic fertilizer.
Water it in with a soil activator.
Consider beneficial nematodes for:
Fire ants
Fleas
June bug grubs
🍎 Help Preserve Central Texas Fruit Trees
This episode's advocacy segment highlights the Fruit Savers BioBlitz: The Ripening, a community science project aimed at locating hardy fruit trees growing throughout Central Texas.
Using iNaturalist, volunteers can document old pear, peach, fig, and other fruit trees that thrive with little intervention, helping preserve locally adapted varieties for future generations.
🔗 Resources & Products Mentioned
🌼 Stay Connected
For more Central Texas gardening advice, seasonal planting tips, and sustainable landscaping guidance, visit ATXGardens.com and follow Colleen on Instagram @ATXGardens_.
