Winding down the season

As we are getting to the end of the growing season, could people give me their take on these issues?

1.When to stop feeding. My plant catering is haphazard at the best of times, but I have now run out of Wilko's plant food and wonder whether it's worth getting a new bottle before next spring.

2.Pricking out cuttings. I have a number of rooted cuttings grouped in pots and have usually left them in situ to survive the winter, but there seems to be time to prick them out out and getting some decent growth before then. What do you think?

3.Sowing annuals for next year. Anyone succeeded with this? - I have never had much luck but it seems to be a matter of getting a decent plant before the frosts set in.

 

Now for Nitrogen. Potash I continue until the bitter end.

Me too!

Anything rooted I want to get into 9cm now, and hopefully into 1L at the end of the season. Conventional wisdom is not to overpot them in the Autumn (so they don't get soggy feet in Winter) but my experience has been that I never have time to catch them in Spring when they need potting on (too many seedlings to look after!) and so long as I master the minimal watering over the winter they will then be ready for 2L pots around May time and I reckon that gets me a bigger plant next year.

For things like Coleus and Fuchsias I leave them as rooted cuttings, crammed into a pot, to save growing space over winter

Keep meaning to try this. Light levels and over watering are probably the issues. If in pots in the greenhouse should be possible to keep them dry enough though,.

 

I feed with Tom food - high potash K from August until late September , for my baskets and containers . Most will last into October , in some form of a respectable show on this regime.
Never planted annuals at this time of year, or anything else really . Just planted some Lupins last week though and I am not really sure on how I should keep them through winter when I prick them out in 3 weeks or so

 

Lots of seed packets recommend sowing certain annuals now in the hope that small plants will overwinter to create a massive display next spring. I've only ever achieved this by total accident.

 

I always did some this way (Corn Flowers and Poppies) but didn't get the chance this year, but always sow some in spring as a back-up.

 

Only feed in the spring. Don't put annual seed out as I have lots of self seeders as it is. Waiting for a bulb order for planting in October. Have to prune and trim still. We are getting several big trees taken down soon. Hope I can get the same leaf guy back again this year. Trucks of mulch are being put down around the many gardens now. Only a few pots to bring inside for the winter, have to split one of them to give away.