Most of the plants would have matured by now. It’s a good time to do the last round of pinching and pruning. This will give them a compact shape and will help them survive better in the winters.

Roses to be pruned in the first half of the October. Apply Bevastin powder or Blitox paste on the cut portions. This is also the time to feed the plant with any organic fertilizer- or well decomposed farmyard manure with an N-P-K ratio of 5-5-5.

Dahlias: Dig and aerate the beds for Dahlias. Spread well decomposed cowdungon the flower beds and plant rooted cuttings by the end of the month.

Chrysanthemums: Chrysanthemums need constant spraying, feeding and training.

Add liquid feed to the chrysanthemums, once a week. Recipe for Liquid Feed is as follows : In a recycled 100 litre drum, take 25 kgs fresh cow dung (Send your maali with a couple of recycled paint buckets to get it, because it is quite heavy), 5 kg Mustard cake, 5 kgs Neem oil cake, 500 ml Dressuan and 500 gms NPK. Fill it with water. Keep it covered and stir it daily. Let it ferment for 10 days. Use 1 litre of this mixture, strained through a dhoti or cotton muslin, and dilute it with 10 litres of water. Important to water the plant and then add this liquid feed every week. Apart from that add a top feed to of 2 parts of Neem khali and 1 part of Bonemeal, a couple of teaspoons in every plant, and turn the topsoil once a week, to make sure it gets mixed evenly. Always water after the feed.

September is the month for pinching. Start pinching when plants are 6’’ tall which is about 3 weeks after planting. Second pinching a couple of weeks after that. When buds start to form, then remove all the side buds, leaving a single bud or 3 buds. Stop the liquid feeding and the Top feed at this point. Only mix 1 gram DAP in 1 litre of water and water the plants with it. DAP is highly reccommneded in the early stages of flowering plants when the plant is still establishing. Another thumb rule for DAP dosage is connected to the size of the pot. 4’’ pot can get 4 to 6 beads of DAP. 6’’ pot can get 6 to 8 beads of DAP etc. Stake the plant so that the sticks are below the bud, or else it will obstruct the growth of the flower. My father took great pride in painting the sticks green before using them. He would painstakingly nurture hundreds of Chrysanthemum pots and decorate them all along the driveway. The whole house would be full of chrysanthemums.

This month is suitable for planting winter flowering Bulbous plants like Gladiolus, Narcissus, and Hyacinth. Please sow the bulbs if the minimum temperature is 25 degrees or below 25 degrees. Bulbs are extremely easy to grow and maintain. The only attention bulbs need is when choosing and storing the bulb in their dormancy. Whether growing in a ground garden or pots, abundance works from the aesthetic point of view. It is ideal to grow a few or more bulbs together; it puts on a much more pleasing spectacle than lone warriors growing out of the soil. Less marks and injuries, big size and more weight is the key. An injured bulb has more chances of rotting in the soil, while a big size indicates a mature bulb and ensures more flowers. Asiatic Lily, Oriental Lily (Stargazer), Daffodils, Chincherinchee, Muscari, Rananculous (Butter Rose) are the ones that make me weak in my knees. Plant these in a rich mixture of equal parts of soil, Gobar, leaf compost and Okhla khaad. The bulbs store their own water so water sparingly in the first few days. These need a little more nutrition before they flower. Each pot will take 2 tbs od Neemkhali, 1 tbs of bone meal, half a tsp of DAP and .25 of Single Super Phosphate. Once the bulbs flower these need regular watering.

Beet, Carrot, Peas, Radish, Turnip and Spinach seeds can be sow this month. Brinjal, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce seedlings can be transplanted. Bulbs of onion and garlic cloves should be planted on well manured ridges

There is still time to sow seeds for winter flowers. I am increasingly doing more and more desi varieties and not the hybrid ones. The desi varieties grow much more easily and will attract all the butterflies and bees in the world. Salvia and Cineraria for the shady areas, Antirrhinum, Poppy, Sweet pea, Dahlias, Sweet William and Dianthus for sunny areas. Desi varieties are, taller, hardier and the flowers last much longer. Procure seeds from a reliable source. F1 (Hybrid) seeds though expensive are worth for money. For Impatience it is best to buy seedlings, as it is not the easiest to grow from seed. Lupins, cornflowers and larkspur are also very quick to flower. Holy Hock, Larkspur, Marigolds, pansies, Stock, Carnations can also be grown. Winter annuals seedlings at 4-6-leaf stage can be transplanted in the flowerbeds or in the pots. Desi seedlings are available at Sunder Nursery, specially desi salvia and desi Cinnaneria which are not available for sale anywhere else.

All herbs do well in the Delhi Winter. Celelry, parsley, oregano, chives, basil thyme and Oregano can be easily grown. Best to buy ready plants in small polybags and transplant into terracotta pots.

Lawns - In October, the lawns are at their best. Basic operation required during this month is removal of weeds. There is no way other than manual removal of weeds.

These would have just survived the monsoon and need attention. Repot, replant and/or divide the succulents using a fresh potting mixture. Water only after a week. I keep reading about succulents doing well indoors, and it works for Sanseveria, but hardly works for anything else. Even the hardy jade will start looking dull indoors and if left for a bit longer, it will show its unhappiness by dropping its leaves. The only succulents which has worked well indoors and without any fuss is Zebra Haworthia. The nurseries in Delhi will come out with the most beautiful looking succulents, but please note that they will stock them only from September to March. Its because they barely survive the heat and don’t survive the Delhi monsoon.