Current Season-Summer
June
- Remember the opposite of heat is not water. Deep water with 1 inch a week.
- Cool season grasses (fescue) do nothing but cut the grass until the growth slows.
- Warm season grasses (Bermuda, Centipede, Zoysia, St. Augustine) the best time to establish a lawn or overseed is May-July.
- Mark your perennials with color, variety and species so you will know specifics when you divide them in the fall or next spring.
- Feed daylilies and hosts with 10-10-10 fertilizer and add lime to daylilies. Dead head spent daylily blooms.
- Prune azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons to shape after bloom is complete. Feed with fertilizer for acid loving plants after pruning.
- Roses should be blooming this month. They are heavy feeders so feed with rose fertilizer every 2-4 weeks.
- Lightly feed perennials monthly with 10-10-10 or 5-10-10 fertilizer.
- Mix green matter into compost pile if it isn’t heating up enough.
- Herbs are basically care free so they do not need fertilizer or much water.
- If vegetables have leaf spot, carefully diagnose the problem before treating. Several problems have similar symptoms.
July
- Remember the opposite of heat is not water. Deep water with 1 inch a week.
- Be wise when gardening in the heat. Drink plenty of fluids when the temperatures rise.
- Azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons should be pruned by July to avoid damaging next year’s blooms.
- July and August are the best times to divide iris.
- Mid July to early August is the optimum time to treat for white grubs.
- Poison ivy is a year round problem. Be careful and wash with soap and water after exposure. The oils that casue the irritation can be spread by pets or on tools or clothing.
- Pinch back and fertilize many perennials such as daylilies, phlox, delphenium, daisies, sedum, hostas and lamb’s ear to get second bloom or new growth.
- To get a second bloom from spent annuals, cut back to about ½ the size and fertilize with ¾ cup of 5-10-10 fertilizer for every square yard of planted area.
- Mulch herbs to keep roots cool.
- Use fertilizer specific for tomatoes and don’t smoke while gardening. Plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are susceptible to mosaic virus common in tobacco.
August
- Remember the opposite of heat is not water. Deep water with 1 inch a week.
- Many turf grasses may see fungal diseases this time of year. If you suspect you have a turf fungal disease, contact your local extension agent and ask how to dig a sample for analysis.
- Do not fertilize fescue and set your mower to 3-4 inch height to mow during the hot months to reduce stress on the lawn.
- September is the ideal month to begin fertilizing and overseeding fescue lawns.
- Survey any damage done by storms and do the least pruning necessary to reshape damaged plants.
- Be sure to correctly diagnose a problem before using a pesticide.
- You may be able to get a second bloom from crepe myrtles if you dead head the spent blooms.
- Try to avoid deep cultivation in your flower beds in August. This may cause damage to surface roots and increase loss of soil water.
- Clean up any fallen rose, camellia, azalea and peony leaves to reduce disease and pest infestation later.
- Continue to separate and plant iris.
- Make plans with a neighbor to harvest any veggies and fruits that become ripe while you are on vacation.
- Fertilize and water your strawberries now to increase yield.
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