July Landscape Tips

Many are familiar with the striking blue (sometimes white) flowers of Agapanthus plants. Their clusters of trumpet shaped blooms are a showy staple of many gardens. Generally these blooms start in spring and have faded around Independence Day. Before you have company over for that fireworks bbq, we need to clip the flower stalks off at the base of the plant. If you have been on a regular turf fertilization program, and have been using high quality turf fertilizer products, you may want to skip July. We have so many hot days it is hard to find a good time to put it down. However, you did not use a controlled release fertilizer back in May and your lush green color has started to fade, or if you have not fertilized at all this year, you will surely notice your lawn just isn’t as green as it should be. With the heat make sure you if you do fertilize now, it gets watered it in well immediately after application. In fact it might not be a bad idea to apply it at 1/2 of the rate on the label of the bag two times a week or so apart instead of all at once. 

Early evening on a cooler day is preferable, and I cannot stress it enough, water it in well, immediately. If the spring annual flowers you planted in April have faded, it’s likely time for removal. They can be replaced with Celosia, Cosmos, Marigold, Verbena, Zinnia, or Mexican Sunflower. Just be aware that the new planting will need a lot of water to get established. Missing just one day of water might mean certain death in the 100 degree plus days of July. You may need to hand water every day or so for a few weeks.  You are better off waiting until fall, but sometimes we just want to see summer flowers, I know... Continue to bait for ants if they are invading your living spaces. Because of the high heat it would be a good idea to give shade trees a slow, deep soak once or twice a month in July, August, and September. This will ensure good health. Water established shrubs and perennials less frequently but deeply as well. Container plants may need daily soakings now.  

Bonus tip: By now you should be getting a bountiful crop of tomatoes from your vegetable garden. Birds usually peck at tomatoes and fruit because they're thirsty, not because they are hungry. Provide a birdbath or other water source, and you'll see less damage on nearby fruit.