Guides / What to plant
What to plant in October
Colour and preparation together. Japanese maples turn, chrysanthemums come into their own as the nights lengthen, and anything tender needs bringing indoors before the first frost catches it.
These are Northern Hemisphere months. If you garden in the Southern Hemisphere, the equivalent month is April.
In the garden
Century Plant
Agave americana
How to grow the century plant. Why it flowers once and dies, why the sap is a serious irritant, how to overwinter it in a wet British climate, and what to do with the pups.
Coral bells
Heuchera americana
How to grow heuchera, Heuchera americana. Coloured foliage for shade all year, why the crown lifts out of the ground, and dealing with vine weevil.
Firethorn
Pyracantha coccinea
How to grow pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinea. Firethorn berries for autumn colour, training it flat against a wall, and living with thorns that puncture rather than scratch.
Florist's Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum x morifolium
How to grow chrysanthemums, Chrysanthemum x morifolium. Pinching for bushy plants, disbudding for large blooms, overwintering the stools, and the day length that sets the buds.
Garden Tulip
Tulipa gesneriana
How to grow garden tulips, Tulipa gesneriana. Why they go in late, how deep to plant, why the second year disappoints, and how to spot tulip fire before it spreads.
Grape hyacinth
Muscari armeniacum
How to grow grape hyacinths, Muscari armeniacum. Planting depth, why the leaves appear in autumn and look untidy all winter, and how to stop it taking over.
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
How to grow hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna. Planting a bare-root hedge, the trimming that thickens it, laying an old one, May blossom and the haws that follow.
Horse Chestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum
How to grow horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum. Conkers, why the leaves go brown every August, bleeding canker, and why a conker is not a sweet chestnut.
Japanese rose
Rosa rugosa
How to grow rugosa rose, Rosa rugosa. The best rose for salt wind and sand, tomato-sized hips you can eat, and why it is now controlled as an invasive species.
Spindle
Euonymus europaeus
How to grow spindle, Euonymus europaeus. The pink capsules and orange seeds that make it the brightest native shrub in autumn, its value to wildlife, and why the fruit must not be eaten.
Virginia creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
How to grow Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia. Scarlet autumn colour on a bare wall, whether it damages brickwork, and keeping it out of the gutters.
Wall Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster horizontalis
How to grow wall cotoneaster, Cotoneaster horizontalis. The herringbone branching that identifies it, training it flat against a wall, berries for birds and the law on planting it in the wild.
Herbs and edibles
Garlic
Allium sativum
How to grow garlic, Allium sativum. Why it must go in before Christmas, hardneck against softneck, scapes, rust, and why garlic is dangerous to dogs and cats.
Lemon
Citrus limon
How to grow Citrus limon in Britain. The cold bright winter it needs instead of a warm room, why the leaves drop in October, the two different feeds, and which variety to buy.
Pear
Pyrus communis
How to grow pears, Pyrus communis. Quince rootstocks, why pears flower earlier than apples and lose more to frost, picking before they are ripe, and pear rust.
Walnut
Juglans regia
How to grow walnut, Juglans regia. Picking green for pickling in June, the juglone that kills what grows beneath it, and buying a grafted tree.
Indoors
Boston Fern
Nephrolepis exaltata
How to grow a Boston fern, Nephrolepis exaltata. The humidity it demands, why fronds shed in winter, propagating from runners, and the Victorian craze that made it famous.
Crown of thorns
Euphorbia milii
How to grow crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii. The caustic milky sap, flowering almost all year in good light, and the spines that make it a poor choice near children.
Dumb cane
Dieffenbachia seguine
How to care for Dieffenbachia seguine. Handling it safely, keeping it from going leggy, air-layering a bare stem, and where the name comes from.
Mexican Snowball
Echeveria elegans
How to grow Echeveria elegans. Keeping the rosette tight, why you must not touch the leaves, watering without rotting the centre, and beheading a stretched plant.
Prayer Plant
Maranta leuconeura
How to care for Maranta leuconeura. Why the leaves fold up at night, what causes the crispy edges everyone gets, and one of the few striking houseplants that is safe with cats.