Maintenance tips for October

- Raise the mower cutting height. This will help stop the lawn getting muddy when the wet weather arrives.

- Make your lawn a feature rather than a space filler. See ‘treatments’.

- Ensure that early-flowering shrubs, such as Camellia and Rhododendron, are well watered when the weather is dry as this will encourage healthy blooms in the spring.

- Climbing roses can be pruned once they have finished flowering; sideshoots can be cut back to a couple of buds. As usual cut out any dead or weak branches.

- Late-summer flowering shrubs such as Helianthemum (rock rose) can be pruned this month. As a general rule you can prune plants after they have flowered provided there is no frost expected.

- Net ponds to stop leaves falling in.

- Give evergreen hedges a trim for the winter.

- Clean your greenhouse before bringing in any tender plants for the winter. You will need a hose, a safe cleaning product (such as Citrox), and a scourer suitable for glass.

- Deadheading plants like Dahlias, Delphinium and Penstemon will prolong your display.

- Bring any young tender perennials such as Fuchsia, Gazania, Lantana and Abutilon into the greenhouse to avoid frost damage.

- Keep deadheading, watering and feeding hanging baskets and they will keep going until mid-autumn.

Planting

- This is a good time of year to plant new perennials as there is still time for them to establish before the really cold weather starts.

Propagation

- Make semi-ripe cuttings of evergreen shrubs such as Ceanothus and Viburnum and hardwood cuttings of roses.

- Now is a good time to take cuttings of tender perennials as these often do better next year than the old plant you took the cutting from.

- Divide overgrown or tired looking clumps of alpines and herbaceous perennials such as crocosmias. This will encourage new growth next year and improve their overall appearance.

Treatments

- A little work now will help your lawn survive the winter and improve its condition for next year:
1. Scarify your lawn - this means raking up dead grass (or thatch) that builds up in your lawn to make space for new growth.
2. Aerate your lawn - this involves making lots of small holes. Light and air get into the holes encouraging the grass to grow and thicken up.
3. Harden up your lawn with a lawn feed high in potassium as this builds healthy roots.

- Top dressings of good quality soil or sand will improve the nutrients in the soil under your lawn and improve drainage. Work it in with a brush. Read suppliers instructions for application rates. A little each year will gradually improve your lawn. Doing this will help prevent water-logging, soil compaction and deter moss and weeds from growing.

Landscaping

- Take advantage of any dry days to paint fences, sheds etc with a preservative.

- Clean patios and paths now to stop them becoming slippery in the Winter- a pressure wash and/or a chemical cleaner will do.

- Make/buy/repair compost bins so that they can be used for fallen leaves.

- Check sheds for leaky roofs and fix them before the rainy season gets started!

- Replace any broken glass in the greenhouse and check for lost glazing clips or worn putty.

Pond care

- Net ponds to stop leaves falling in.