July & August Gardening Tips!

   So we are halfway through July & the majority of the US is in a drought situation. I know I am one more heat wave away from a water restrictive policy. So as not to panic, you are generally allowed to hand water new plantings when this occurs. Check with you local townships. Here are some suggestions to get you through these last hot months.

~ Wait until September before planting any new trees, shrubs or perennials if you can. This is not the year to take a chance. Most plants are guaranteed a year, however, it still breaks the heart when plants don’t survive. Always save your receipts! Keep them taped in a pretty gardening journal.

~ Time to fertilize for the rest of the season. Add more slow release like Osmocote to your container plants & use your bloom boost type fertilizer every couple of weeks for you flowering plants. You can use both together.

~ Time to give those leggy annuals like petunias & calibrachoa a haircut. Cut back half to two-thirds of you plants if you like. This really will revitalize them. If you do this before you go on a vacation for instance, it will be flowers as usual when you return.

~ Keep deadheading your flowers & you will be rewarded with continual blooms. This includes continually pinching those zinnias. (These are this year’s to the left – they started as a single stem leggy plant from a six pack!) Deadheading the spent flowers of butterfly bush, black-eyed susan, daisy, coneflowers & phlox will prolong bloom time. (Leaving some flower heads on the coneflowers if you only have a plant or two will feed the goldfinches as soon as they go to seed!)

~ Cut back your perennial salvias & yarrows severely and you will have blooms well into the fall! Deadhead those bee balm plants & cut away some wilted leaves too. You will have new leaves & flowers in no time.

~ Water, water, water. Gray water counts, so put buckets in your shower. Bathtub water, rain water (hah!), dehumidifier water, etc. all will work!

~ Keep your camera ready! I will share some amazing photos I just took in the past week. (Glad I took my own advice & wasn’t too busy.)

~ Enjoy! (Frozen blender drinks help!!)