September
Perhaps the first job in September this year should be to look at your plants to see what you have that you could possibly enter in the Autumn Show next month. Choose the plants that you are going to enter then clean the plant, its pot and the top dressing. Remember that you are trying to catch the judge's eye so presentation is of the utmost importance and may be the difference between getting a first place and not being placed at all.
As the weather gets cooler during September you can reduce the amount of water given to most cacti. There are still some in flower at the beginning of the month - some Astrophytums, Mammillarias and possibly some Weingartias and Matucanas -and by the end of the month the Ariocarpi will be either in flower or will be coming into flower especially if the weather is sunny. Watering should be discontinued as soon as they have finished flowering. If you have kept your epiphytic cacti out of doors during the summer they should be moved indoors at some point during the month especially if there is some likelihood of frost.
Many of the other succulents are still in full growth or even just coming into growth (such as Othonnas, Tylecodons, Dioscorea elephantipes, Phyllolobus resugens). Many Haworthias will be in growth for the next two months. All these plants will require careful watering throughout September preferably on bright, sunny days but care should be taken to see that they are almost dry before the next watering.
