July

Flowers & Ornamental Grasses

Flowers & Ornamental Grasses

• Temperatures are rising so monitor plantings for moisture stress.  New plantings and moisture lovers are your highest priority.
• Keep planting as long as you have space, time and plants.  Keep the soil slightly moist and mulch to help new plantings establish during the heat of summer.
• Mulch the soil in your gardens as needed with a thin layer of shredded bark, leaves, straw or other organic material to suppress weeds, keep the soil cool and moist and improve the soil as it decomposes.
• Conserve water by using a watering wand, soaker hose or drip irrigation. You’ll deliver water directly to the soil where it’s needed and avoid wet foliage that can lead to disease.
• Give annual flowers a mid season nutrient boost, if needed, with a slow release, low nitrogen fertilizer.
• Recruit a plant sitter and provide plant care directions before leaving on vacation.
• Continue controlling ground ivy, quackgrass, bindweed and other perennial weeds that can quickly take over your garden.
• Groom flowers to keep them looking their best.  Deadhead flowers for continual on-going bloom and a neater appearance.  Pinch back leggy annuals to encourage branching and more flowers.
• Stop pinching fall-blooming perennials at the beginning of the month.
• Stagger deadheading, pinching and pruning within each flowerbed. This way you will always have some blossoms to enjoy while waiting for others to produce new blooms.
• Disbud dahlias for fewer, but larger flowers.
• Stake and tie dahlias, lilies and gladiolas as needed.  Be careful not to spear the bulb while installing the stake.
• Extreme heat can cause alyssum, French marigolds, lobelia and other heat sensitive annuals to stop blooming and decline. Water as needed and wait for cooler weather and blossoms to return. 
• Make note of hot spots in the garden. Next year use heat and drought tolerant plants in these locations
• Remove and destroy spotted leaves as soon as they appear and deadhead flowers during rainy periods to reduce the risk and spread of disease.
• Check limp and pale irises for iris borer.
• Manage aster yellows disease that can cause green petals, distorted leaves and misshapen flowers on many plants.
• Monitor for Japanese beetles, aphids, mites and other pests in the most eco-friendly method possible.
• Keep applying repellents, secure fencing, enlist scare tactics and vary strategies to discourage troublesome wildlife.
• Record pest problems as they occur. Make note on next year’s calendar to watch for these and other problems.
• Solarize soil before planting to suppress weed, disease and other pest problems without the use of chemicals. 

Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs

Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs

• As temperatures climb, keep a watch out for moisture stress.  New plantings and moisture lovers are your highest priority.
• Plant seeds and transplants of short-season vegetables that can be harvested before the first killing frost. 
• Cover the soil with a thin layer of shredded leaves, straw or other organic material to suppress weeds, keep the soil cool and moist and improve the soil as it decomposes.
• Conserve water by using a watering wand, soaker hose or drip irrigation. You’ll deliver water directly to the soil where it’s needed and avoid wet foliage that can lead to disease.
• Fertilize with a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer if plants need a nutrient boost. Feed leafy vegetables, sweet corn and root crops when they are half their mature size.  Wait until tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans and vine crops have started producing fruit to fertilize them.
• Ask a friend to water your garden and harvest ripe fruits and vegetables while you’re away on vacation. 
• Harvest spinach when the outer leaves are 6-8 inches long. Continue picking leaf lettuce as the outer leaves reach 4-6 inches.  Replant for a fall harvest.
• Harvest greens then dig or pull beets and radishes when the root is full size. 
• Cut off the black portion on the bottom of tomatoes suffering from blossom end rot. Compost this and the rest is safe to eat.
• Pick herbs as needed. Regular harvesting will encourage new growth for continual harvesting.  
• Prune summer-bearing and everbearing raspberry plants after harvest.  Prune all the older canes that bore fruit that summer back to ground level.
• Manage pests like Japanese beetles, aphids and mites. Hand pick small populations and look for other eco-friendly methods and products to manage damaging populations.
• Record pest problems in your garden journal or computer to help you manage them in the future.
• Manage weeds, disease and other pest problems with the power of the sun. Cover beds with clear plastic for 6 to 8 weeks to solarize the soil.
• Secure fencing, apply repellents labeled for food plants and enlist other tactics for preventing wildlife damage.

Groundcovers & Vines

Groundcovers & Vines

• Monitor plantings for moisture stress. Always water thoroughly to encourage deep, more drought tolerant roots.
• Continue filling bare spaces and blank walls as long as you have space, time and plants.
• Reduce stress, conserve moisture, suppress weeds and improve the soil by applying a thin layer of shredded bark, leaves, or evergreen needles.
• Use a watering wand, soaker hose or drip irrigation to conserve water and avoid wet foliage that can lead to disease.
• Monitor for pests and handpick small populations. Consider using the most eco-friendly control options to manage damaging populations.
• Reduce ongoing maintenance and pest problems by solarizing the soil before planting. 
• Keep applying repellents and varying scare tactics to manage wildlife damage.

Indoor & Holiday Plants

Indoor & Holiday Plants

• Monitor all your houseplants summering indoors and out for pests.  Check under the leaves, along the stems and throughout the plants for signs of insect pests.
• Evaluate watering and fertilization practices if leaves begin to yellow and brown.
• Set up a self watering system or DIY indoor greenhouse to keep indoor plants thriving while you are away on vacation.

Lawns

Lawns

• Mow high to encourage deep roots that are more drought tolerant.
• You can still lay sod; use fresh sod, install as soon as possible and water often enough to keep the soil moist. 
• Allow established lawns to go dormant during dry periods and watering restrictions. Apply ¼ inch of water every 3 weeks to prevent plants from dying without breaking dormancy.
• If you choose to water; water early in the day when you leave footprints on the lawn. Water thoroughly and less frequently.
• Limit foot and equipment traffic, don’t apply pesticides, including weed killers, and don’t fertilize any dormant and heat stressed lawns.
• Proper care and overseeding bare spots is usually sufficient to manage disease problems.

Trees, Shrubs & Roses

Trees, Shrubs & Roses

• Monitor plantings for moisture stress as temperatures rise.  New plantings and moisture-loving plants need the most attention. But even large established trees may need supplemental water during extended dry periods.
• Keep planting balled-and-burlapped and container trees, shrubs and roses as long as you have space, time and plants.
• Mulch or replenish mulch around new and established plantings of trees, shrubs and roses if needed.  Maintain a 2 to 3 inch layer of wood mulch around these plants, but do not bury the crowns or place mulch against tree bark. 
• Lightly prune wayward branches on arborvitae, yews and junipers once the new growth has expanded.  Clip stems back to a healthy bud or side shoot to contain growth.
• Remove and destroy bagworms from trees and shrubs with a pair of garden scissors or sharp knife.
• Manage other plant damaging pest populations with the most eco-friendly methods and products available.
• Rake and destroy scab infested leaves of crabapples as they fall to reduce the source of disease next season. 
• Monitor lilacs and other shrubs for powdery mildew. Infected plants will survive, but their appearance declines as the season progresses.
• Make note on next year’s calendar to watch for recurring pest problems.
• Use a variety of tactics to protect plantings from deer, rabbits and other wildlife.