| |
 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 Dragon Lawn Weed Killer or 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.
|
|
|
