Gardening Update: September 6, 2025

After a blistering hot July, I hope that you all have been enjoying the last few weeks of mild weather as much as I have. Although it's been dry, the cooler weather has been pleasant for both humans and plants (remember that most plants do best when daytime highs are in the 70's to low 80's). For your garden, the early arrival of Fall means you are probably fine to move up Fall planting as long as you provide them with supplemental water.

Looking further back, I would characterize this summer as a typical Piedmont weather yo-yo. By yo-yo, I mean that instead of the 1" of rain every 1-2 weeks, we cycle through extended periods of intense dry or wet weather. We had a mild/wet May to mid June, hot/dry mid June - late July, mild/wet early August and now a mild/dry late summer. This yo-yo can be hard on plants...at least in my garden, I have a number of plants (Blue Stars and Joe Pye Weeds) with less than stellar foliage and flopping. Most plants are fine and will bounce back next year. The ones that have issues are less established plants that prefer it either dryer or wetter. With those, you can either try again with the same plant or try out a different plant. It's all part of the inherent uncertainty that comes with gardening.

In my garden, Iron Butterfly narrow leaf ironweed and late boneset are at peak bloom. Goldenrods, White Wood Aster and Obedient Plant are just starting to bloom. The berries on the beautyberry bushes are turning a beautiful purple.

Here are a few additional garden to-do's for the next month:

• Annual weeds depend on reseeding to come back next year. If you keep up with weeding through early fall, you can prevent this year's weeds from becoming next year's weeds.

• Make better use of your leaves: As our trees start dropping leaves, rather than bagging them, consider the following:

  • For lawn areas, mow over them. This will chop them up finely and provide natural fertilizer to your lawn.

  • Use your leaves as natural mulch in established flower beds. Besides adding organic matter and suppressing weeds, this also aids pollinators who lay their eggs on tree leaves in late summer/fall (like next year's fireflies).

Keep Gardening,

Doug

Flower Colors and the Pollinators They Attract

Have you ever walked through the garden and wondered why some flowers draw in bees while others seem to be hummingbird favorites? Or why so many native flowers are yellow, lavender, or purple, while fewer are red, and almost none are green or brown? The two questions are related. In a recent post, I looked at how pollinators' vision capabilities impact the color of flowers we see in the garden.

GO TO ARTICLE

Interesting Gardening Content

Growing Greener: America's most beautiful neglected genus of keystone plants
Thomas Christopher and Nancy DuBrule-Clemente, a pioneer of organic land care, extolls the outstanding aesthetic and ecological contributions of goldenrods, a genus of native flowers too seldom seen in our gardens.

The Era of the American Lawn is Over

In a New York Times opinion piece, American ex-pat Ken Ilgunas compares American and British approaches to their lawns. He addresses the history of America's love affair with lawns and urges Americans to embrace the naturalistic look that Britons are increasingly adopting.

Designing Natural Landscapes: Garden Design with Native Prairie Plants

Neil Diboll from Prairie Nursery in Wisconsin put out this great primer for successful incorporation of native plants into your garden or designs. Although he's in Wisconsin, both the concepts and most of the plants still apply to us in Charlotte.

Monarch Joint Venture: Lifecycle of the Monarch

Have you ever had Monarch butterfly caterpillars in May/June and then not seen any adult Monarchs until the Fall? Or have you ever wondered why you don't see monarchs in mid summer? If so, this article covering monarch lifecycle and migration pattern will provide your answer.

Garden Combination of the Month: Iron Butterfly Narrow Leaf Ironweed and Late Boneset

I’ve had Iron Butterfly ironweed (Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly) in the garden for several years and have always loved its bushy form, feathery fine textured foliage and profusion of small purple late summer blooms. Last summer, I planted a small 4” pot of Late Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) just behind it. It has absolutely exploded. 1 year later, it stands a bushy 5’ tall, with a nice vase shaped form and is covered with small white blooms that are buzzing with pollinators. My only concern is that it might be too happy…if it grew this much in one year, it has the potential to take over a garden. For that reason, I am appreciating it, but holding off on using it in client gardens until I get a better feel for how it spreads.

Community Action

The Coalition to Protect Our Urban Nature, led by Alden Picard of the NC Wildlife Federation, is urging Charlotte to amend its overgrown vegetation ordinance. Currently, the ordinance requires grass and weeds to be kept less than 12", with no exemption for native plants / naturalistic plantings that provide ecological function. Several Carolina cities—Matthews, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Columbia SC—have already made similar changes to their ordinances.

Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera is championing the effort, but she needs your help to get her colleagues on board. Charlotte residents: Before the next council meeting on September 22, please send a personalized email to your district council member (find yours on this map) and copy the at-large members below. Also BCC Alden Picard at alden@ncwf.org.

• Dimple Ajmera - Dimple.Ajmera@charlottenc.gov

• LaWana Mayfield - LaWana.Mayfield@charlottenc.gov

• James Mitchell Jr. - James.Mitchell@charlottenc.gov

• Victoria Watlington - Victoria.Watlington@charlottenc.gov

Upcoming Events

UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Fall Plant Sale

• October 3-4 (Early access for members on October 2nd)

• The best local fall plant sale with a fantastic selection of natives and hard-to-find plants at reasonable prices. They typically release their plant list a few weeks in advance. Members get early access on Thursday, a discount, and a free plant. If you aren't a member, this is a great reason to consider joining.

Trees Charlotte - Tree Adoption

• Sep 27, 2025 - early registration required

• Trees Charlotte gives away free 7-gallon sized trees to Charlotte residents—the perfect size for planting. Registration typically opens 5-7 days before the event and fills up quickly. If you're looking to add trees to your landscape, this is a great way to get quality trees for free.

Wing Haven Gardens Plant Sale

• October 9-11 (Early access for members on October 8th)

• If you can't make it to the UNCC Plant Sale, this is another great option. It's smaller with a bit higher prices, but they still have an excellent selection of plants you likely won't find at typical nurseries. Since this is a fundraiser, you're also supporting a worthy cause.