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Landscaping Tips for the Month of July
Chores and Maintenance:
- If rain is lacking, practice water-wise horticultural techniques
- Determine which plants are most important and water them first
- Water plants early in the day through drip irrigation or hand held hose with shut-off nozzle
- Re-apply mulch to plantings to help conserve moisture
- Allow lawns to go dormant; they will green up again when rain returns
- Continue to remove weeds which compete for water
- Continue to stake floppy plants and vines
- Mow lawns regularly to keep grass height at 3-4in.
- Continue to aerate and moisten compost pile to speed decomposition
- Continue to apply acid mulch to azaleas, rhododendrons, and other ericaceous ornamentals
- Apply a summer mulch to rose beds to preserve moisture and control weeds
- Deadhead annuals and perennials to encourage continuous bloom and cut back any rampant growth
- Continue to spray roses weekly with a baking soda fungicide (See June Tips for recipe)
- Remove any fallen leaves and debris which can harbor insect pests and disease organisms
- Pinch back asters and chrysanthemums one last time
- Finish deadheading rhododendrons and lilacs
- Continue to apply deer repellent
Planting:
- Continue to repot any houseplants as needed
- Continue to lift, divide, and propagate spring-flowering perennials
- Sow seed of lettuce, kale, broccoli, cabbage, radishes and arugula for fall harvest
- Sow seed of English daisy, forget-me-not and pansy now
- Continue to propagate shrubs from softwood cuttings
- Propagate spring-flowering perennials
- Propagate herbs from cuttings
- Continue transplanting container grown plants
Pruning/Fertilizing:
- Deadhead hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda, miniature, repeat-blooming shrub and climbing roses
- Prune climbing roses after flowering
- Prune and thin large shade trees to increase light for lawns and planting beds
- Prune evergreens, and deciduous and evergreen hedges into early summer
- Prune all raspberry canes which have completed fruiting to the ground
- Fertilize broad-leaved flowering evergreen shrubs with topdressing of oakleaf compost/and or cottonseed meal
- Fertilize needle evergreens with acid type fertilizer
- Fertilize roses
- Continue to fertilize annuals and container plants each month
- Fertilize chrysanthemums every 2-3 weeks until buds form
- Fertilize vegetables
- Leave nitrogen-rich grass clippings on lawn
