LATE SUMMER CARE AND GETTING YOUR GARDEN READY FOR AUTUMN

The end of summer leaves the garden tired: sun-scorched leaves, compacted soil and plants that have spent weeks surviving rather than growing. This is exactly the moment to help them recover and, at the same time, get the ground ready for the best planting season of the year.

First, take a good look at your garden

Before touching anything, spend some time going plant by plant. After a hot summer it is common to find:

• Dry or scorched leaf edges, a sign of heat stress or insufficient watering.
• Caked soil that repels water instead of absorbing it.
• Late summer pests such as red spider mite or scale insects, which thrive in dry heat.

Helping plants recover after the heat

The idea is not to push the plant, but to support it as it starts growing again in the cooler weather.

• Water less often but more deeply. One deep soak every few days beats a short daily sprinkle: it makes roots grow downwards.
• Prune only what is damaged. Remove dry leaves and spent flowers, but leave hard pruning for winter, when the plant is dormant.
• Gently aerate the soil around the plant so water can soak in again.
• Top up the mulch. A layer of mulch holds moisture, evens out soil temperature and keeps weeds down.
• Go easy on fertiliser. A light feed helps; a heavy one pushes soft new growth that will suffer with the first cold.

Why autumn is the best time to plant

If we had to choose a single season for planting trees and shrubs, it would be autumn. With the first rains and soil that is still warm, the plant puts all its energy into rooting instead of supporting leaves and flowers.

You see the result the following summer: a specimen planted in autumn reaches the hot months far better rooted and needs considerably less watering than one planted in spring.

Preparing the soil before the first rains

This is the job that makes all the difference and almost nobody does. It is worth a weekend of your time.

• Clear and tidy the area where you are going to plant.
• Loosen the soil deeply, without turning it completely, so roots can explore.
• Work in well-rotted organic matter: it improves structure and water-holding capacity.
• Dig the holes in advance, much wider than the rootball, and let them take the first rains.
• Think about drainage. If water sits, fix it before planting: it is the most common cause of failure.

What to plant once the rains arrive

As soon as the soil is genuinely moist, it is time for shade and street trees, shrubs for hedges and borders, and fruit trees, which particularly appreciate autumn planting.

It is also a good time to rethink the garden: replace what has not worked, reinforce a hedge or create a new low-maintenance area with Mediterranean species, which need hardly any watering once established.

One last thought

Do not rush to plant everything on the same day. Prepare the soil now, wait until the ground is properly moist after the first rains, and plant then. Those two or three weeks of waiting are often the difference between a plant that takes and one that just sits there.