Wichita gardener’s almanac for Sept. 5

Cutting back and dividing peonies — Peonies are essentially dormant by Sept. 1, so they can be cut back anytime now, even though the leaves may still be green, Ward Upham of K-State says. If they’re looking raggedy, you can cut leaves off close to the ground and compost or throw them away, he says.

If you’d like to divide your peonies to make more – and they seem to live forever if they like the spot they’re in – this is also the time to do it, after you’ve removed the foliage, but realize that it will take three years for the divisions to reach full bloom and size, Upham says.

He gives these instructions for dividing: Dig out the plant, shake or wash off the soil, and divide roots with a sharp knife so that each division has three to four pink buds or “eyes.” Plant them 2 feet apart for dwarf types and 4 feet apart for standard types in a site where there is at least half a day of full sun. Plant so that when the soil is watered well and settled, the eyes are about 1 inch below the soil surface. If they are more than 2 inches deep, they may not flower. Continue to water as needed through the fall and winter, adding a mulch of straw, leaves or other material after the soil freezes to keep it from heaving.

Plant — Lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips, fescue grass seed.

Tend asparagus and rhubarb — Asparagus and rhubarb plants are now building up reserves for next year’s harvest, so keep them watered in dry spells and keep the area around them weed-free, Upham says. Leave the foliage until all green is gone out of it, then you can remove it or leave it during the winter to collect snow for moisture, he says in K-State’s Horticulture 2015 newsletter.

Garden events

Chinese garden talk — Landscape designer Janet Gordon will be at Botanica on Wednesday to talk about designing and picking out the plants that have gone into Botanica’s new Chinese Garden of Friendship. Her lunchtime lecture, at 12:15, is included in Botanica admission or membership. Lunch will be for sale from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for $8.

Tuesdays on the Terrace — The Emily Strom Trio will perform at Tuesdays on the Terrace from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Botanica. Roses & Rum Runners is the theme. Admission is $7, $3 for members. Dinner will be for sale for $8, and drinks also will be sold. The gardens are open until 8.

Annie Calovich

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Wichita gardener’s almanac for Sept. 5."