Take hardwood cuttings of roses, choosing well-ripened, healthy shoots.

Give evergreen hedges a final trim to make sure they are in shape for winter.

Keep early-flowering shrubs, such as Camellia and Rhododendron, well watered during dry periods to ensure good flower bud initiation for blooms next spring. Use recycled or stored rainwater wherever possible.

Thoroughly soak drought-stressed plants and shrubs, especially newly planted ones. As the weather becomes cooler and damper, the soil will better absorb and hold any extra water you give it. Use recycled or stored rainwater wherever possible.

Collect tree and shrub seeds for sowing next spring, such as Colutea (bladder senna), Laburnum, Morus (mulberry) and Sorbus (rowan). See collecting and storing seeds and germinating tree seeds.

Order mature or large plants now for planting in October or once the rains have moistened the soil.

If the weather is already autumnal, you can now plant and move shrubs and trees without having to worry excessively about their survival and establishment. Shrubs planted now will get off to a flying start next spring, as they will have had all winter to settle in.

Climbing roses can be pruned once they have finished flowering; sideshoots from the main framework of branches are cut back to a couple of buds. Any dead, diseased or spindly growth is cut out and the new young shoots are tied in to the supports, from the base. If there is an old, thick and woody, unproductive stem, it can be removed from the base to stimulate more vigorous growth.

Late-summer flowering shrubs such as Helianthemum (rock rose) can be pruned this month. Some shrubs that should have been pruned earlier, but were forgotten, will still benefit from being pruned now rather than left until next year. Ribes (flowering currant) and Lavatera (shrubby mallow) are examples, but do be aware that other shrubs will resent untimely pruning and may flower less next year as a result.

Clear dead leaves promptly once they start to fall, as rotting leaves can be a source of disease in the garden. They are, however, useful on the compost heap and can be shredded first with a shredder or mulching mower, to help them break down quicker.

Pest & disease watch

Good garden hygiene helps to prevent disease carry-over from one year to the next, so it is vital to rake up and destroy (or throw out) any affected leaves. Do not compost them or leave them lying, as this could spread the disease. Instead, burn them or place them in the domestic refuse bin destined for landfill. Diseases such as black spot on roses, leaf blight on quince, and scab on apples and pears can all be reduced in this way.

Honey fungus fruiting bodies will begin to appear in late September and early October, indicating possible areas of infection. However, there are many harmless fungi that appear at this time, so don't be overly alarmed. Saprophytic fungi (i.e. living entirely on dead matter) pose no threat to living garden plants. Honey fungus may be more common in areas of woody planting, whereas harmless fungi often pop up in areas of damp lawn, for example.

Powdery mildew can still be troublesome in warm, dry, Indian summer weather. Unless it is severe, it will probably clear up once the rains arrive.