| Resist
the urge to quit gardening for the
season. There are many things that can
be done in the landscape and garden.
Gardeners are however, advised to
proceed at a more moderate and organized
pace. Try to limit most activities to
the cooler times of the day and drink
plenty of fluids. The following are some
summer gardening suggestions:
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Plant for Color: Enjoy
Plant for Color: Enjoy landscape color all season
long by establishing heat resistant annuals and
perennials. Some to consider include zinnias, pentas,
shrimp plant, coleus, plumbago, cuphea, mandevilla and
hibiscus.
Deadhead spring planted
annuals by pruning off old flowers. Make a light,
supplemental application of a complete fertilizer and
continue irrigating as needed. Remove weeds by either
hoeing or hand pulling.
Remove old, spent
flowers from summer flowering perennials such as
hibiscus, chaste tree and crapemyrtle. This practice
encourages repeated flowering.
Summer Annuals:
Annual plants that will
tolerate the full sun, up to 8 hours a day, include
geraniums, marigolds, verbena, and portulaca. There are
other annuals that do well in summer gardens that are
fully shaded, receiving only two to four hours of direct
sun, such as begonias, impatiens, and coleus. In
addition, nasturtiums and snapdragons will do well in
partially shaded gardens, with four to six hours of sun.
In areas that are deeply shaded, it may be best to plant
ferns, English ivy, and other types of ground cover.
Perennials, Rock Plants
and Hanging Baskets:
Perennial plants such as
Shasta daisies take full sun. Hostas, ferns, and
astilbes like a lot of shade, and lamium is a good
choice for gardens in partial shade. Rock plants or
Alpines and herbaceous plants can be started in your
summer garden from seeds or cuttings. Hanging baskets of
trailing plants make a nice addition to your patio
garden. Patio plants should be fertilized weekly and
watered twice a day in regions with extremely hot and
dry summers.
Cutting and Pruning:
Bedding plants should be
fed with liquid plant food in the summer. It is
important to remove or “deadhead,” flowering plants,
such as roses, zinnias, geraniums, salvias, and
marigolds in the summer. Cutting the fading blossoms
with sharp scissors or pruning shears before they turn
to seed will encourage continued blooming. However,
heavy pruning of trees, plants, or shrubs should be
avoided in the summer.
Lawn Care: Raise
the cutting height by 1/2 inch as extremely hot weather
arrives. This removes some of the stress from the grass
and allows for deeper root growth.
Lawns should be watered
on an "as needed basis," rather than on a schedule.
Daily watering of established grass is not necessary nor
recommended because it wastes water and encourages
infection by various fungi.
Two, possibly three
irrigations per week might be required in the absence of
rainfall. Calibrate the sprinkling system in order to
make sure that the right amount of water is being
applied. Depending upon soil type, one-half to three
fourths of a surface inch will moisten the soil to a
depth of 8 inches. Place some pans in the area being
irrigated in order to determine the amount of time
required.
Pest Watch:
Inspect the lawn and landscape weekly in order to detect
pests before they begin causing serious problems.
Following are the most common summer pest related
disorders. Contact your extension agent, garden center,
nursery or landscape maintenance professional for help,
if required. Rhizoctonia brown patch on turfgrass.
Chinch bug infestation
on St. Augustine lawns.
Flower thrips feed deep
within blooms and cause distorted and/or short flower
life. They are most commonly found in flowers of
gardenia and rose, but also infest many other flowering
annuals and perennials.
Spider mites can cause
serious damage on shrubs, flowers and perennials -
especially if dry weather continues. Mites feed mostly
on the underside of leaves, causing the foliage to take
on a stippled or gray cast.
Lacebugs are also found
on the underside of leaves, but are more specific as to
the species infested. They are found mostly on azaleas,
hawthorn, lantana, pyracantha and sycamore. Heavy
feeding causes the leaves to have a white, bleached or
gray cast.
Don't slack off on
maintenance. Good care over the next few weeks can help
to ensure long term enjoyment.
Pest control is key to
an extended harvest season. There are several fungus
diseases and insects that can literally ruin the crop if
unchecked.
Monthly
Tips: Choose from the following summer months
for more exact tips of what to do during that month.
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