| Ornamentals |
- Provide water in the garden for the birds, especially during dry weather.
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- Remove infected leaves from roses. Pick up fallen leaves. Continue fungicidal sprays as needed.
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- While spraying roses with fungicides, mix extra and spray hardy phlox to prevent powdery mildew.
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- Newly planted trees and shrubs should continue to be watered thoroughly, once a week.
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- Fertilize container plants every 2 weeks with a water soluble solution.
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- Keep weeds from making seeds now. This will mean less weeding next year.
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- Keep deadheading spent annual flowers for continued bloom.
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- Perennials that have finished blooming should be deadheaded. Cut back the foliage some to encourage tidier appearance.
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- Plant zinnia seed by July 4th for late bloom in annual border.
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- Spray hollies for leaf miner control.
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- Prune climbing roses and rambler roses after bloom.
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- Apply final treatment for borers on hardwood trees.
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- Apply no fertilizers to trees and shrubs after July 4th. Fertilizing late may cause lush growth that is apt to winter kill.
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- Hot, dry weather is ideal for spider mite development. With spider mite damage, leaves may be speckled above and yellowed below. Evergreen needles appear dull gray-green to yellow or brown. Damage may be present even before webs are noticed.
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- Fall webworms begin nest building near the ends of branches of infested trees. Prune off webs. Spray with Bt if defoliation becomes severe.
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- Divide and reset oriental poppies after flowering as the foliage dies.
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- Semi-hardwood cuttings of spring flowering shrubs can be made now.
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- Summer pruning of shade trees can be done now.
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- Powdery mildew is unsightly on lilacs, but rarely harmful. Shrubs grown in full sun are less prone to this disease.
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- Don't pinch mums after mid-July or you may delay flowering.
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| Lawns |
- Water frequently enough to prevent wilting. Early morning irrigation allows turf to dry before nightfall and will reduce the chance of disease.
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- Monitor lawns for newly hatched white grubs. If damage is occurring, apply appropriate controls, following product label directions.
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| Vegetables |
- Blossom-end rot of tomato and peppers occurs when soil moisture is uneven. Water when soils begin to dry; maintain a 2-3 inch layer of mulch.
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- To minimize insect damage to squash and cucumber plants, try covering them with lightweight floating row covers. Remove covers once plants flower.
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- Dig potatoes when the tops die. Plant fall potatoes by the 15th.
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- For the fall garden, sow seeds of collards, kale, sweet corn and summer squash as earlier crops are harvested.
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- Set out broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower transplants for the fall garden.
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- Sweet corn is ripe when the silks turn brown.
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- Keep cukes well watered. Drought conditions will cause bitter fruit.
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- Harvest onions and garlic when the tops turn brown.
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- Sow seeds of carrots, beets, turnips, and winter radish for fall harvest.
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- Cover grape clusters loosely with paper sacks to provide some protection from marauding birds.
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- Prune out and destroy old fruiting canes of raspberries after harvest is complete.
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- Blackberries are ripening now.
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- Apply second spray to trunks of peach trees for peach borers.
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- Early peach varieties ripen now.
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- Thornless blackberries ripen now.
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