Guides / What to plant
What to plant in September
Autumn planting starts in September. Trees and shrubs can go in while the soil is still warm, dormant cyclamen tubers can be brought back into growth, and pothos cuttings still root quickly in the remaining light.
These are Northern Hemisphere months. If you garden in the Southern Hemisphere, the equivalent month is March.
In the garden
Black Bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra
How to grow black bamboo. Why a running bamboo needs a barrier before it needs anything else, how to install one properly, the legal risk of letting it spread, and how the canes turn black.
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
How to grow rudbeckia, Rudbeckia fulgida. Black-eyed Susan for late summer, the difference between the perennial and the annual sorts, and leaving the seed heads for birds.
Cherry laurel
Prunus laurocerasus
How to grow Prunus laurocerasus. Pruning with secateurs rather than shears, treating shot hole, disposing of clippings safely, and why it must never be confused with bay.
Cotton
Gossypium hirsutum
How to grow upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum. The seed hair that clothes the world, the boll that has to open before frost, and the poison in the seed.
Deadly nightshade
Atropa belladonna
How to recognise Atropa belladonna, telling its berries from the harmless lookalikes, what to do if a child eats one, and why it is still grown as a crop.
Florist's Cyclamen
Cyclamen persicum
How to grow florist's cyclamen, Cyclamen persicum. Why central heating kills it, watering from below, summer dormancy, and the danger in the tuber.
Guelder rose
Viburnum opulus
How to grow guelder rose, Viburnum opulus. Lacecap flowers in May, translucent red berries in autumn, and why it thrives in the wet ground that kills other shrubs.
Ivy-leaved cyclamen
Cyclamen hederifolium
How to grow hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium. Flowers before the leaves in September, the dry shade it thrives in, and buying tubers the right way up.
Japanese anemone
Anemone hupehensis
How to grow Anemone hupehensis. Late summer flowers for shade, why it sulks for a year and then runs, and how to get it out of a border once it has spread.
Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum
How to grow Acer palmatum. Shelter from wind, why leaf scorch is not a disease, verticillium wilt, and the maple that is dangerous to horses.
Lords-And-Ladies
Arum maculatum
How to identify lords and ladies, Arum maculatum. The orange berry spike children eat, the burning mouth it causes, and how to tell it from wild garlic in spring.
Meadow Saffron
Colchicum autumnale
How to grow autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale. The leafless autumn flowers, why it is not saffron, the colchicine that makes it lethal and how it differs from a true crocus.
Monkshood
Aconitum napellus
How to grow Aconitum napellus, the most poisonous plant in temperate gardens. Handling it safely, dividing it in gloves, staking the stems, and why the root is the danger.
Montbretia
Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora
How to grow crocosmia, Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora. Arching sprays of orange in late summer, dividing congested corms, and why montbretia escapes into the countryside.
Pampas grass
Cortaderia selloana
How to grow pampas grass, Cortaderia selloana. Cutting it back without shredding your hands, why male plants have no plumes, and its invasive record abroad.
Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
How to grow rowan, Sorbus aucuparia. The best small tree for a cold exposed garden, berries for birds from late summer, and why summer heat rather than winter cold is what limits it.
Sea Island Cotton
Gossypium barbadense
How to grow Sea Island cotton, Gossypium barbadense. The long staple behind Egyptian and Pima cloth, the yellow flower that separates it from upland cotton, and the reason it is grown so little.
Umbrella Bamboo
Fargesia murielae
How to grow Fargesia murielae, the umbrella bamboo. The clump-forming bamboo that cannot run, why almost every plant on Earth flowered and died in the 1990s, and where it beats Phyllostachys.
Wild Daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
How to grow and naturalise wild daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus. Planting depth, why the leaves must be left alone, the sap that kills other cut flowers, and why the bulbs are dangerous.
Herbs and edibles
Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis
How to grow adzuki beans, Vigna angularis. Sowing, spacing, summer warmth, drying the seed and using the red beans for sweet paste.
Ajwain
Trachyspermum ammi
How to grow ajwain, Trachyspermum ammi. The carom seed that tastes of thyme, why it needs a greenhouse here, and its place in Indian cooking and home remedies.
Ambarella
Spondias dulcis
How to grow ambarella, Spondias dulcis. Warmth, watering, the crisp green fruit, the spiny stone and its common names.
American pawpaw
Asimina triloba
How to grow American pawpaw, Asimina triloba. The largest fruit native to North America, custard-textured and tropical-tasting, from a tree hardy to -25 deg C.
Anise
Pimpinella anisum
How to grow anise, Pimpinella anisum. Why the seed needs a long hot summer to ripen, sowing it direct in May, and the aniseed flavour it shares with three unrelated plants.
Asian pear
Pyrus pyrifolia
How to grow Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia. Why you pick it crisp instead of ripening it soft, the pollination partner it needs, and thinning the fruit for size.
Australian Round Lime
Microcitrus australis
How to grow Australian round lime, Microcitrus australis. The Queensland rainforest citrus that was a bushfood before it was a crop, its place beside the finger lime, and the thorns it comes with.
Autumn olive
Elaeagnus umbellata
How to grow autumn olive, Elaeagnus umbellata. A nitrogen-fixing shrub with silver leaves and speckled red fruit, and why it needs planting with thought.
Bearberry
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
How to grow bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. The evergreen acid-soil carpeter, its red berries and glossy leaves, and where it grows wild on Scottish moorland.
Blackberry
Rubus fruticosus
How to grow blackberries, Rubus fruticosus. Choosing a thornless variety, training the canes so you never cut the wrong ones, and why the fruit turns sour after Michaelmas.
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
How to grow broccoli, Brassica oleracea var. italica. Calabrese and purple sprouting are different crops, cutting for side shoots, and getting a spring harvest.
Buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum
How to grow buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum. Sowing, fast growth, bee forage, harvesting seed and using it as a green manure.
Cardoon
Cynara cardunculus
How to grow cardoons, Cynara cardunculus. Blanching the leaf stalks in autumn, the difference from a globe artichoke, and the seed heads that curdle cheese.
Cattley Guava
Psidium cattleianum
How to grow Cattley guava, Psidium cattleianum. The hardiest guava, small enough to fruit on a windowsill, red and yellow forms, and the reason Hawaii would like it gone.
Chaste Tree
Vitex agnus-castus
How to grow chaste tree, Vitex agnus-castus. The late-flowering blue spikes for a hot wall, pruning it hard each spring, and the monastery reputation behind its name.
Chervil
Anthriscus cerefolium
How to grow chervil, Anthriscus cerefolium. Sowing it in autumn for a winter crop, why it bolts in a hot bed, and how to tell it from the cow parsley it is related to.
Chickpea
Cicer arietinum
How to grow chickpeas, Cicer arietinum. A plant that sweats acid onto its own leaves, the difference between desi and kabuli, and the water you should stop pouring away.
Chinese chestnut
Castanea mollissima
How to grow Chinese chestnut, Castanea mollissima. A blight-resistant chestnut with sweet nuts, needing a partner tree and acid soil.
Chinese wolfberry
Lycium chinense
How to grow Chinese wolfberry, Lycium chinense. The leafier of the two goji species, grown across southern China as a vegetable as much as for its fruit.
Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
How to grow chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa. A tough shrub with brilliant autumn colour, and fruit so astringent it is named for what it does to your mouth.
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
How to grow coriander, Coriandrum sativum. Why it bolts, why you must sow it direct rather than transplant, succession sowing for a steady supply, and harvesting the seed.
Corn Salad
Valerianella locusta
How to grow corn salad, Valerianella locusta. The hardiest winter salad there is, sowing in September, and picking whole rosettes through the frost.
Cornelian cherry
Cornus mas
How to grow cornelian cherry, Cornus mas. Yellow flowers in February, sour red fruit in late summer, and waiting for it to drop before you pick.
Costa Rican Guava
Psidium friedrichsthalianum
How to grow Costa Rican guava, Psidium friedrichsthalianum. The sour guava that makes the drink rather than the dessert, how it differs from the common guava, and why Central America grows it as a hedge.
Crab apple
Malus sylvestris
How to grow crab apple, Malus sylvestris. Britain's only native apple, the pollination it gives an orchard, and turning sour fruit into jelly.
Cumin
Cuminum cyminum
How to grow cumin, Cuminum cyminum. Why it needs a greenhouse in a cool climate, sowing it under glass in April, and telling it from caraway.
Ethiopian Mustard
Brassica carinata
How to grow Ethiopian mustard, Brassica carinata. A second natural brassica hybrid, the leaf vegetable behind gomen, and the oilseed being turned into aviation fuel.
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
How to grow fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum. Methi leaves in six weeks, ripening the seed in a cool summer, and the compound that makes it smell of maple syrup.
Filbert
Corylus maxima
How to grow filbert, Corylus maxima. The long-husked hazel behind Kentish Cob, why you need two of them, and the squirrels that will take the crop first.
Finger lime
Microcitrus australasica
How to grow finger lime, Microcitrus australasica. An Australian rainforest citrus whose fruit is filled with juice vesicles that burst like caviar.
Finger Millet
Eleusine coracana
How to grow finger millet, Eleusine coracana. The clenched fist of seed heads, more calcium than any other cereal, and a grain that keeps for a decade.
Fox grape
Vitis labrusca
How to grow fox grape, Vitis labrusca. The American slip-skin grape behind Concord juice, hardier and more disease-resistant than a European vine.
Foxtail Millet
Setaria italica
How to grow foxtail millet, Setaria italica. The bristly head that gives it its name, a domestication as old as rice, and the weed it was made from.
Goji berry
Lycium barbarum
How to grow goji berry, Lycium barbarum. A hardy sprawling shrub that fruits in its third year, needs no coddling, and takes some training to keep tidy.
Gold kiwi
Actinidia chinensis
How to grow gold kiwi, Actinidia chinensis. Smooth-skinned and yellow-fleshed, earlier than the furry kind, and a degree or two more tender.
Grape vine
Vitis vinifera
How to grow grapes, Vitis vinifera. Choosing outdoor or greenhouse varieties, the rod and spur system, thinning the bunches, and why powdery mildew decides the crop.
Great Millet
Sorghum bicolor
How to grow sorghum, Sorghum bicolor. Heat, drought tolerance, grain heads, harvest timing and cyanide risk in stressed plants.
Guava
Psidium guajava
How to grow guava, Psidium guajava. The smell that fills a room, pink flesh against white, the seeds you can and cannot chew, and why it is a weed across half the tropics.
Hardy kiwi
Actinidia arguta
How to grow hardy kiwi, Actinidia arguta. Grape-sized fruit eaten skin and all, hardy to -25 deg C, and far easier in a cool climate than the furry kind.
Hops
Humulus lupulus
How to grow hops, Humulus lupulus. Training the bines clockwise up strings, why you need female plants, picking at the right moment, and drying the cones.
Hyacinth Bean
Lablab purpureus
How to grow hyacinth beans, Lablab purpureus. Purple pods on a garden climber, an African staple, and a bean that has to be boiled twice before anyone eats it.
Jabuticaba
Plinia cauliflora
How to grow jabuticaba, Plinia cauliflora. The Brazilian tree that fruits all over its trunk, the grape-like berries that last three days, and the fifteen-year wait from seed.
Jack Bean
Canavalia ensiformis
How to grow jack beans, Canavalia ensiformis. A cover crop with a sword-shaped pod, the bean that gave chemistry its first crystallised enzyme, and seed that needs hours of boiling.
Jujube
Ziziphus jujuba
How to grow jujube, Ziziphus jujuba. A thorny tree that fruits like a small apple and dries like a date, needing more summer heat than most cool temperate gardens give.
Key lime
Citrus aurantiifolia
How to grow key lime, Citrus aurantiifolia. The most tender citrus of the group, thorny and small-fruited, and one that needs real winter warmth.
Lemongrass
Cymbopogon citratus
How to grow lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus. Rooting a supermarket stalk in water, overwintering the clump indoors, and harvesting the stem bases.
Lingonberry
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
How to grow lingonberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea. An evergreen dwarf shrub that crops twice a year, spreads by runners, and needs acid soil and nothing else.
Love-Lies-Bleeding
Amaranthus caudatus
How to grow love-lies-bleeding, Amaranthus caudatus. Crimson ropes hanging to the ground, a Victorian border favourite, and an Andean grain crop under another name.
Millet
Panicum miliaceum
How to grow proso millet, Panicum miliaceum. The fastest cereal there is, ready in sixty days, and the grain that fed northern China before rice arrived.
Miracle Fruit
Synsepalum dulcificum
How to grow miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum. The West African berry that makes a lemon taste like lemonade for half an hour, how the effect works, and the acid compost it insists on.
Muscadine
Vitis rotundifolia
How to grow muscadine, Vitis rotundifolia. The thick-skinned grape of the American South, which needs more summer heat than a cool climate can offer outdoors.
Mustard Greens
Brassica juncea
How to grow mustard greens, Brassica juncea. Sowing for heat that mellows with frost, cutting young for salad, and using it as a green manure and biofumigant.
Naranjilla
Solanum quitoense
How to grow naranjilla, Solanum quitoense. The Andean lulo with orange skin and green pulp, the hairs that rub off the fruit, and the cool highland conditions it insists on.
Passion fruit
Passiflora edulis
How to grow passion fruit, Passiflora edulis. A tender vine for a greenhouse or conservatory, and why the hardy blue passionflower is not a substitute.
Quinoa
Chenopodium quinoa
How to grow quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa. A fat hen relative from the Andes, the soap coating you have to wash off, and a crop that grows better in a cool summer than a hot one.
Rapeseed
Brassica napus
How to grow rapeseed, Brassica napus. The yellow fields that take over the landscape every spring, a hybrid of turnip and cabbage, and the two compounds that had to be bred out before anyone could eat it.
Red Amaranth
Amaranthus cruentus
How to grow amaranth, Amaranthus cruentus. A grain the Spanish tried to ban, seeds that pop like tiny popcorn, and leaves that cook like spinach.
Red Mombin
Spondias purpurea
How to grow red mombin, Spondias purpurea. The jocote sold on every Central American street corner, the living fences it is grown as, and how a branch stuck in the ground becomes a tree.
Rocket
Eruca vesicaria
How to grow rocket, Eruca vesicaria. Cut-and-come-again sowing, why summer rocket turns fierce, beating flea beetle, and telling salad rocket from wild rocket.
Rye
Secale cereale
How to grow rye, Secale cereale. Sowing, poor soils, ergot risk, harvesting grain and using rye as a green manure.
Safflower
Carthamus tinctorius
How to grow safflower, Carthamus tinctorius. A spiny thistle that dyed Egyptian cloth, the fake saffron in a spice jar, and a taproot that goes down three metres.
Sea buckthorn
Hippophae rhamnoides
How to grow sea buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides. Male and female plants, ferociously acidic orange berries, and the thorns that make picking a considered job.
Sesame
Sesamum indicum
How to grow sesame, Sesamum indicum. Why the pods split and scatter the seed, growing it under glass in Britain, and the phrase that comes from that habit.
Soya Bean
Glycine max
How to grow soya beans, Glycine max. The most valuable legume in agriculture, why most of it is eaten by animals, and the day length that stops it cropping at high latitude.
Stuffing Cucumber
Cyclanthera pedata
How to grow caigua, Cyclanthera pedata. The hollow fruit that comes ready to stuff, the gourd that will crop outdoors in a cool summer, and the seeds shaped like tiny turtles.
Sugar Apple
Annona squamosa
How to grow sugar apple, Annona squamosa. The fruit that breaks into segments in your hands, the quickest Annona to crop, and why the seed powder must be kept away from eyes.
Surinam Cherry
Eugenia uniflora
How to grow Surinam cherry, Eugenia uniflora. The ribbed red fruit with a resinous edge that people either love or spit out, the hedge it makes, and the invasion it has caused.
Sweet Granadilla
Passiflora ligularis
How to grow sweet granadilla, Passiflora ligularis. The Andean passion fruit with an orange shell and grey pulp, sweeter than the purple kind, and the tapping test that tells you it is ready.
Tartary Buckwheat
Fagopyrum tataricum
How to grow Tartary buckwheat, Fagopyrum tataricum. The bitter buckwheat of the Himalaya, self-fertile where its cousin is not, and the highest rutin content of any crop.
Tatsoi
Brassica rapa var. narinosa
How to grow tatsoi, Brassica rapa var. narinosa. The flat winter rosette that stands hard frost, sowing for a February harvest, and keeping the leaves off wet soil.
Tea plant
Camellia sinensis
How to grow tea, Camellia sinensis. A hardy evergreen camellia for acid soil, picked as two leaves and a bud, and processed at home into green or black tea.
Turkish hazel
Corylus colurna
How to grow Turkish hazel, Corylus colurna. A single-trunked hazel that makes a proper tree, never suckers, and tolerates drought and city air.
White Lupin
Lupinus albus
How to grow white lupin, Lupinus albus. The bar snack that takes a week to make safe, a named allergen in Britain, and roots that mine phosphate out of dead soil.
Wild cranberry
Vaccinium oxycoccos
How to grow wild cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos. The bog cranberry of the northern hemisphere, smaller in every part than the American one, and needing conditions few gardens have.
Wild strawberry
Fragaria vesca
How to grow wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca. Tiny fruit with more flavour than any garden variety, cropping from June to the first frost, and easy from seed.
Yellow Mombin
Spondias mombin
How to grow yellow mombin, Spondias mombin. The caja behind Brazilian juices, the hog plum of the Caribbean, and the tree that fruits within four years from a stuck branch.
Indoors
Devil's Ivy
Epipremnum aureum
How to grow pothos, Epipremnum aureum. Keeping the variegation, propagating in water, why a climbing plant grows different leaves, and the calcium oxalate that makes it toxic.
Living stones
Lithops lesliei
How to grow living stones, Lithops lesliei. The strict watering calendar, why you must not water while it splits, and the annual leaf change.