General Gardening Tips
Summer is here and it's a great time to add a water feature to your landscape. Craft stores, local nurseries, found items and inexpensive small water pumps and filters will help you as you design and build a creative water feature that will allow you to enjoy the soothing sights and sounds of water. Creative pools, fountains and waterfalls are on display at many garden center locations. Stop by and speak with our water garden experts and pick up informational literature about proper pond care. The library is full of books on design and construction.
Plants and trees that provide color in the month of July include Crape Myrtles, Spireas, Hydrangeas, Summersweet, Hypericum, Butterfly Bush, and Golden Rain Tree. Visit the nursery and see these beautiful plants in bloom.
Perennials that provide interest in the month of July include Daylilies, Rudbeckia, Phlox, Veronica, Ligularia, Tickseed and much more.
Check all plants, especially newly planted ones, for water on a regular basis. Water deeply and thoroughly as needed.
Gator bags provide a great way to keep trees watered during hot and dry months. These bags, which can hold up to 20 gallons of water, are secured to the trunk of the tree, where they release the water slowly to the root ball over the course of 15-20 hours.
Spruce up your summer landscape with beautiful color in containers and hanging baskets. Be sure to use potting mix when planting and a water-grabbing polymer such as Soil Moist to reduce the frequency of watering.
Stop pinching Chrysanthemums by July 16th.
Do not prune Azaleas and Rhododendrons after the second week of July for they soon will begin setting their buds for next year's blooms.
Water Gardens
Clear pond water can be achieved with proper plant balance. If the pond is in full sun, 50-70% of its surface must be covered with foliage such as Floating Heart, Water Hyacinth, Water Poppy, Water Lily, or Lotus.
Underwater grasses are essential to maintaining water clarity as they utilize the oxygen in the water, which helps prevent algae from accumulating in the pond. Following are some easy guidelines to know when trying to figure out how many grasses are needed:
1 clump of grass per 1 sq. ft. of surface area for ponds less than 25 sq. ft.
1 clump of grass per 2 sq. ft. of surface area for ponds greater than 25 sq. ft.
Time to fertilize all Water Lilies and Lotus once a month to keep the plant blooming continuously throughout the season.
Lotus are great plants for container water gardens on a deck or patio. Whiskey barrels make a perfect container for these types of water gardens.
Tropical Water Lilies make a spectacular show of color for any water garden. Whereas hardy Water Lilies bloom only during the day, tropical varieties, include day and night bloomers. This makes it possible to enjoy the bloom in the late afternoon and evening. Day blooming tropical Water Lilies bloom heavier than hardy lilies. The flowers stay open longer each day and they bloom much later into the season. Night blooming tropical water lilies open their flowers at approximately 5 pm and do not close until the following morning around 9 am. This is perfect timing for those evening barbecues and parties.
Time to switch from spring fish food to summer fish food since water temperatures have risen above 70 degrees. At higher temperatures, fish metabolize at a faster rate, thus creating a need for a diet higher in protein, which the summer food contains
Pest Controls
Various pest problems can occur in July. If you have plants that you suspect may be facing a pest problem, contact your local agricultural extension office for their recommendations of pest control. If using chemicals, follow the directions EXACTLY. Listed below are some of the problems that can appear this month along with the proper controls.
If needed, set Japanese beetle traps up, but away from the garden.
Use Diatomaceous Earth to control crawling insects such as cockroaches, ants, slugs, silverfish, earwigs, fleas, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and carpet beetles. Use indoors and outdoors.
Time to control aphids, lace bugs, bagworms, birch borer, fall webworm, Japanese beetle, obscure scale, oyster shell scale, euonymus scale, pine needle scale, rhododendron borer, apple tree borer, spider mites.
Use Round-Up or Finale to kill weeds and grasses in brick patios and walks.
Spray roses with Ortho Rose Spray or Dragon Rose Spray to keep black spot and other problems under control. Many people are starting to use compost tea to keep pest and funguses under control.
Fruit trees should be on a regular spray program.
Control slugs and snails on hosta and other plants with diatomaceous earth.
Fruit and Vegetable Gardens
Fertilize fruits and vegetables as needed with a good quality, slow-release vegetable food such as Osmocote.
Stake tomato plants.
If necessary, spray tomato plants and other vegetables to control diseases.
Start seeds for fall vegetables this month. This includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and many others.
Lawns
Apply a fungicide to the lawn to control turf diseases such as brown patch, dollar spot and others.
Fertilize zoysia lawns now with a 26-4-12 weighted lawn fertilizer.
If needed, apply a weed control to the lawn to kill actively growing weeds. Use Ortho Weed B Gone.
Tips on applying weed killer:
Do not apply weed controls on newly seeded areas.
Do not apply weed controls on windy days.
Do not apply weed controls near or on the edge of waterways.
Do not allow children or pets to play on lawns freshly applied with weed controls. It is best to wait one week.
Do not apply weed controls when temperatures are above 85 degrees F.
Always follow the label directions.
House Plants
Feed houseplants with a good quality indoor plant food such Osmocote (slow-release granular).
If needed, re-pot root bound houseplants to a larger pot. Use potting mix when repotting houseplants.