July's hot tips on maintaining flower garden
Planting
* If you are lacking summer color, it's not too late to set out these plants: ageratum, begonias, celosia, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, gazanias, gloriosa daisies, impatiens, marigolds, petunias, portulaca, sea lavender, sweet alyssum, zinnias.
* Start seeds of campanulas, columbine, coreopsis, delphiniums, forget-me-nots, and foxgloves to plant out in September.
* July is the month to start new plants from herbaceous perennials. Cut five-inch stems and remove flowers of carnations, geraniums, marguerites, Shasta daisies, penstemons and verbenas. Root them in damp perlite.
* At the end of the month divide overcrowded clumps of iris and spring-flowering bulbs. Replant into beds prepared by deeply digging in organic amendments.
Soil management
* July and August are the best months to solarize your garden soil to get rid of weed seeds, insect pests, and diseases. For information on soil solarization, visit the Master Gardener Web site at: http://groups.ucanr.org/mgnapa/index.cfm.
* Renew the mulch around plants to keep them cool and conserve moisture.
* Continue to monitor the soil moisture and check the drip system for clogged sprinklers and emitters.
Maintenance
* Stop pruning these spring-blooming plants now: vines and trees such as azaleas, dogwood, redbud, spirea, forsythia, flowering quince, wisteria and some roses shouldn't be heavily pruned unless they are dormant. Excessive pruning from midsummer into fall will reduce next year's blooms. However, trimming a gangly shoot here and there to maintain the proper shape is fine.
* Encourage more blooms by deadheading (snapping off spent flowers) the annuals and pinching back the tips of chrysanthemums, fuchsias and geraniums.
* If you are lacking summer color, it's not too late to set out these plants: ageratum, begonias, celosia, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, gazanias, gloriosa daisies, impatiens, marigolds, petunias, portulaca, sea lavender, sweet alyssum, zinnias.
* Start seeds of campanulas, columbine, coreopsis, delphiniums, forget-me-nots, and foxgloves to plant out in September.
* July is the month to start new plants from herbaceous perennials. Cut five-inch stems and remove flowers of carnations, geraniums, marguerites, Shasta daisies, penstemons and verbenas. Root them in damp perlite.
* At the end of the month divide overcrowded clumps of iris and spring-flowering bulbs. Replant into beds prepared by deeply digging in organic amendments.
Soil management
* July and August are the best months to solarize your garden soil to get rid of weed seeds, insect pests, and diseases. For information on soil solarization, visit the Master Gardener Web site at: http://groups.ucanr.org/mgnapa/index.cfm.
* Renew the mulch around plants to keep them cool and conserve moisture.
* Continue to monitor the soil moisture and check the drip system for clogged sprinklers and emitters.
Maintenance
* Stop pruning these spring-blooming plants now: vines and trees such as azaleas, dogwood, redbud, spirea, forsythia, flowering quince, wisteria and some roses shouldn't be heavily pruned unless they are dormant. Excessive pruning from midsummer into fall will reduce next year's blooms. However, trimming a gangly shoot here and there to maintain the proper shape is fine.
* Encourage more blooms by deadheading (snapping off spent flowers) the annuals and pinching back the tips of chrysanthemums, fuchsias and geraniums.
posted by blogger at
Saturday, July 01, 2006
