Summer (June - August)

• See Guidelines for Throughout the Year

June

• See General Guidelines appearing before the month by month section
• Fertilize plants and lawns
• Wash off plants early in the morning with hose spray
• To keep roses actively blooming, trim off spent flowers and cut back to 5-leaflet leaves where there is a flower bud
• If any of your plants have powdery mildew, prune to allow air circulation as well as spraying susceptible plants with an anti-transpirant such as Cloud Cover
• Stake tall bloomers and tie vines to trellises
• Hoe, dig or pull weeds
• Replenish mulch if less that 1½" deep
• Deep water trees and shrubs
• Deadhead and cut back Spring flowering perennials to encourage more blooming
• Apply chelated iron to affected plants to treat chlorosis (yellow leaves/green veins)
• Regular garden clean up

July Back to Top

• See General Guidelines appearing before the month by month section
• Fertilize
• Wash off plants early in the morning with hose spray
• To eliminate flower-eating budworms from petunias and geraniums, spray every 7-10 days with Bacillus thuringiensis.
• Hoe, dig or hand pull weeds
• Replenish mulch if less than 1½" deep
• To keep roses actively blooming, trim off spent flowers and cut back to 5-leaflet leaves where there is a flower bud
• Dig and divide overcrowded perennials such as Iris, Agapanthus, Dietes, daylilies, Japanese anemones
• Give any brown spots on lawns a good soaking twice a week
• Clean up fruit under trees which can carry brown rot to next growing season
• Coax bougainvillea into bloom by allowing the top several inches of soil to dry out between waterings (flowers most freely in somewhat dry soil)
• Lawns: keep mower high during heat of summer; mow bluegrass and fescue when it is 3-4 inches tall to a height of 2-3 inches
• July planting: Fall vegetables including beets, broccoli, bush beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green onions, peas, spinach, and turnips. Plant winter squash among spinach as the spinach will be ready to harvest before the squash takes over.

August Back to Top

• See General Guidelines appearing before the month by month section
• Wash off plants early in the morning with hose spray
• Fertilize
• Continue to harvest vegetables for maximum production
• Deadhead and lightly shape shrubs and vines
• To keep roses actively blooming, trim off spent flowers and cut back to 5-leaflet leaves where there is a flower bud
• Cut back summer blooming perennials to get another bloom in fall
• Order bulbs this month or next
• Divide perennials such as iris and daylilies
• Replenish mulch if less than 1½" deep
• Deep-water large trees and shrubs even if they're watered by a sprinkler system. Use a soaker hose, deep-root irrigator, or hose (turned on slowly in a basin) and run it until the soil is soaked to a depth of 12-18 inches under the drip line of the plant.
• Remove suckers from the base of tree trunks or roots using sharp pruning shears
• General garden clean up