Plant: Cool-season leafy and root vegetables early in month. Warm-season grasses such as bermuda and St. Augustine early in month in North Texas, by mid- to late month in South Texas. Cool-season turfgrasses, including fescue for permanent lawns and ryegrass for temporary winter cover, also ryegrass to overseed established warm-season turf. "Garden" mum varieties from local nurseries for most compact habit. Wildflowers from seed sown early in month. Choose sunny site, away from competing grass. Spring-flowering (and some summer-flowering) perennials can be dug and divided this month.

Prune: Established trees and shrubs you intend to move this winter by "root-pruning." Cut lateral roots with a sharpshooter spade, but make no attempt to cut their taproots. New roots will regrow within the soil balls. Similarly, root-prune wisterias that flower poorly to shock them into better bud set this fall. Perennial garden by removing spent flowers, dried seed heads. Dead and damaged limbs from trees, shrubs.

Fertilize: Turf with high-nitrogen or all-nitrogen plant food. This is the most important feeding of the entire year. Fall flowers, vegetables with water-soluble, complete-and-balanced plant foods regularly. Iron-deficient plants with iron to correct chlorosis. Include sulfur to keep the iron in a soluble form.

On The Lookout: Pre-emergent weedkillers must be applied before cool-season annual seeds germinate (early September in North Texas, by mid-September in South Texas). Do not use pre-emergents if you plan to overseed your lawn. Apply glyphosate-type herbicide to kill unwanted grasses in areas where you want to start new flower or vegetable gardens or groundcovers later in the fall. Cabbage loopers in cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) with Bacillus thuringiensis, or "B.t." Trim to remove new outbreaks of fall webworms. Grub worm damage will leave any type of turf dead and root-less in very irregular patterns. Treat as needed with labeled insecticide. Brown patch will show up in St. Augustine late in month. Dead blades will pull loose easily from runners. Do not water in the evenings, and apply labeled turf fungicide. Protect roses from black spot and powdery mildew with weekly applications of fungicide. Keep foliage dry when watering.