August Gardening Calendar

African Daisy

July and August forecast is predicting above average temperatures for most of the United States. For the past two weeks there have been heat advisory warnings daily and to use precautions while working outdoors. The best times to garden in an area that has heat advisories is early morning or late afternoon. When we garden during these heat advisories it is recommended to protect yourself from heat dangers by:

·         Stay out of the sun, if possible.

·         Drink plenty of cool water whether you are thirsty or not.

·         Wear loose, light-colored clothing, and sun screen. Try wearing clothes that use the Dri-Fit technology.

·         Try to schedule outdoor activities early mornings or late afternoons.

·         While working outdoors pace yourself and take a break when tired.

Prune Tropical Hibiscus you plan to bring indoors for the winter. Plan to place your plant in the sunniest window during the winter months. Trim back enough to fit your location indoors and bring your Hibiscus inside around December or before first frost. After pruning check your Hibiscus for insects and spray with appropriate insecticide. Now is a good time to fertilize your Hibiscus. Hibiscuses are heavy feeders and should be fertilized monthly.

Remove faded blooms and seedpods on your Crepe Myrtles. You may be rewarded with more blooms before first frost. The recommended fertilizer formulation for Crepe Myrtles is 10-15-9 or a similar combination. Don’t forget to fertilize your Crepe Myrtles.

Roses prune out dead canes, and weak, bushy growth. Cut back tall, vigorous bushes by 1/3 the original plant height. Fertilize roses on a monthly basis until October. After pruning you should see new blooms coming in about 6 weeks.

Azaleas Lace bugs on your Azaleas increase rapidly in summer. Check your Azaleas for insects. The damaged caused by these sucking insects looks like tiny white dots and the entire leaf is almost completely white. Spray with appropriate insecticide labeled for Azalea Lace Bugs.

Perennials Can be divided in August and transplanted else where in the garden. Perennials such as: summer phlox, peony, iris, and daylily. Perennials that have finished blooming for their season can be divided also.

Lawns check your grass for insects, especially for chinch bugs and white grubs. These insects are most active in the summer months. The signs for chinch bugs are irregular circles, and the grass is thin, and then dies. For white grubs, the signs are irregular circles, and the grass is loosely rooted. Check the soil underneath the loosely rooted grass by digging up the soil, the grubs should be about an inch down in the soil, if you have them. Apply the appropriate insecticide and follow the package directions carefully. Lawn Mower Blades should be sharpened once each summer. A sharpened lawn mower blade prevents shredding the grass, and giving your lawn a nice, clean cut.

Mulch check all shrub beds and trees for mulch thickness. We are experiencing extreme heat this summer and shrubs and trees that have 2 to 3 inches of mulch keeps the roots cool and helps the soil retain moisture. In winter 2-3 inches of mulch will keep the soil warm through the winter season.

Fruits and Vegetables Start planning your fall vegetable garden this August. Till the soil and add Gypsum and Composted Cottonseed hull. The additives lower the alkalinity and helps the soil stay loose. Tomatoes, Peppers, and Beans should be planted by August 1^st. Starter plants usually are available by August 15^th. Pick the varieties of tomatoes that mature in 65-70 days. Cool season vegetables, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, collards, spinach, kale, and snow peas are planted in September. Blackberry and Raspberry plants at this time of year have a tendency to trail along the ground. Take the trailing canes or runners and tie them back to their arbor. For more information on planting fall vegetables click to read my blog post Here. Seeds for cool season vegetables can be started now for planting in September.

Seeds sow cool season seeds of snapdragons, dianthus, pansies, calendulas, and sweet alyssum to be planted in mid to late fall. Sow seeds of bluebonnets and other spring wildflowers this month to be planted in the garden. The wildflowers will establish a root system during the fall for spring blooms.

Tropical Foliage Plants Check plants that are spending the summer outdoors for insects. Use an insecticidal soap, if needed. Your houseplants can be fertilized biweekly with a water-soluble plant food. Hibiscus and More has a wonderful selection of gardening books. Click to order.

August is a good time to start thinking about fall bulbs. Mail-order houses usually have early bird specials for consumers who order early.

Hibiscus and More now features Fine Art Prints and Merchandise. Click to order.

Cheryl now features her botanical photography on two stock websites. Need the Image as Stock? Click Here.  Shutterstock.

Need the Image as Stock? Click Here.  Adobe.

Need more gardening advice? Follow our BlogSpot for current sales, daily specials, and sound gardening advice. Simply click on Join This Site Link Under Followers. Sign Up Is Free. View Current Blog Post Click Here.

Have a wonderful summer. Stay hydrated, keep cool, and go to the shade when starting to feel weak. Happy Gardening.

©Cheryl Ann Meola - Certified Texas Nursery Professional #1282

July Gardening Calendar 2024

July Gardening Calendar

Extreme heat began earlier this year than previous years. In the past five years, each summer we currently break last year’s record.  Extreme temperatures were recorded around the world in June 2024 and we have two to three more months of the summer. Currently there are 11 states that are under extreme heat warnings: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. 

Lantana camara ‘Miss Huff’

The CDC recommends these precautions for anyone who is involved in outdoor work or activities during extreme heat weather. Drink plenty of water and don’t wait until you are thirsty. Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks. Always where sunscreen and reapply as directed on label. Try to avoid working in mid-day heat and ask if the task can be rescheduled. Where loose fit clothing in light colors. Dri-fit is a brand of clothing that helps keep one cool during work or exercising. Where a large, brimmed hat to help keep one cool. Try to go to air conditioning or shady location during breaks. Keep an eye on your co-workers and encourage them to take breaks to drink water and cool off. For more information this is a link to the CDC website: CDC

Summer gardening tasks to do in one’s landscape, if living in one of the states mentioned for extreme heat try to in morning hours or early evening.

Watermelon – Choosing a summer watermelon for ripeness is as simple as slapping or knocking on it. The good ripe one’s sound hollow, and the unripe one’s sound like solid wood.

Flowering annuals and perennials – Such as Salvia, Zinnia, Coneflower, and Petunia, remove faded flowers to encourage bushiness and more flower production. Plant sun and heat tolerant annuals. Tropicals are a good choice because the plants now how to beat the summer heat and tropicals will reward you with lots of blooms and color.

Dahlias – The last week in July trim your plants back by half of their height to producannualse fall blooms. Fertilize with a flowering plant food.

Pink and Blue Hydrangeas – Remove faded flower stems. Trim shorten droopy, flowerless stems by 1/3. New growth that occurs now through winter will produce next summer’s blooms.

Herbs – Now is a good time to trim back Basil, Mint, and Oregano by half to prevent flowering and seed production. This will produce tastier leaves to use later.

Summer Vegetables – The plants will stop flower production when just one ripe cucumber, squash, or okra are left on the plant. Pick your summer vegetables on a regular basis to prevent this.

Fall Vegetables – Plant peppers, corn, cucumbers, squash, bush beans, and fall tomatoes. For tomatoes use the small to medium sized varieties.

Houseplants, Patio Pots, and Hanging Baskets – Check plants that are spending the summer outdoors for insects. Use an insecticidal soap, if needed. Your houseplants can be fertilized by-weekly with a water-soluble plant food. For more information on Houseplants order Cheryl’s book from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Grow-Fresh-Air-Pollution-Houseplants-ebook/dp/B0C72T954R/ref=sr_1_2?crid=DFC3HN5ZOBD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b0hx7eqbc4AFD0gxuEX2FcFWYnG__m4-Hm2Vp20fyMKjW1swwyOkfcWhsfFkPUPz.i0bTjxtksoTYMiO-BtM7JGX-PUbqO5Nsfo_oFKc0kf8&dib_tag=se&keywords=cheryl+ann+meola+books&qid=1720116434&s=books&sprefix=cheryl+ann+meola%2Cstripbooks%2C146&sr=1-2

Trees and Shrubs – Newly Spring planted trees and shrubs should be watered 2 gallons of water per foot of plant height. For more information on Landscape Gardening, you can order Cheryl’s book here. https://www.amazon.com/Southeast-Style-Gardening-Garden-Designs/dp/B08YNXJGMB/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b0hx7eqbc4AFD0gxuEX2FcFWYnG__m4-Hm2Vp20fyMKjW1swwyOkfcWhsfFkPUPz.i0bTjxtksoTYMiO-BtM7JGX-PUbqO5Nsfo_oFKc0kf8&qid=1720116599&sr=1-3

Figs – Remove the tallest shoots in the middle first, then prune the rest of the fig lightly. The horizontal branches produce the best fruit.

New Turf – There is 6 to 7 weeks to start your project on laying or replacing turf grasses. The grass needs to be well-rooted before the cool weather starts, which is shortly after daylight savings time ends. It usually takes 10-15 days to get the grass established.

The Monarchs need our help. For more information on Butterfly Gardening, Cheryl has written Gardening for the Butterflies available on Amazon. Click Here. Click Here.

Hibiscus and More offers fine art prints of Cheryl Meola’s plant photography. Fine Art Prints. Fine Art Prints.

Cheryl Meola’s Plant Photography Merchandise. Click Here.

Floral & Foliage Stock Photography.  Stock Photography.

Botanical & Seasonal Stock Photography. Stock Photography.

Hibiscus and More offers fine art prints of Cheryl Meola’s plant photography. Fine Art Prints. Fine Art Prints.

Cheryl Meola’s Plant Photography Merchandise. Click Here.

Floral & Foliage Stock Photography.  Stock Photography.

Botanical & Seasonal Stock Photography. Stock Photography.

Have a wonderful summer. Stay hydrated, keep cool, go to shade when you start feel weak.

©Cheryl Ann Meola 2024