August Gardening Tips
- Divide and transplant daylilies and Shasta daisies this month.
- Light pruning of most shrubs should be completed early this month to allow time for new growth to emerge and mature before freezing temperatures arrive.
- If you have removed faded bedding plants and want some color in your garden this fall, reseed the garden area with petunias, zinnias and marigolds.
- Keep faded blooms cut from rose bushes to prevent the formation of hips (the fruit of the rose that contains the seeds). The plant energy can then go into producing new flowers instead of seeds.
- If centipede grass looks yellow, it may require extra iron. Use a fertilizer that contains iron and other minor elements such as magnesium. Do not fertilize after this month because you do not want the grass to produce too much growth late in the season. Be sure to use fertilizer rates recommended on the label. lf you want to green-up your centipede quickly, apply a solution of chelated iron, available from nurseries and lawn and garden centers. When applying. do not allow the spray to drift onto walls, terraces, etc. for the solution will stain these surfaces.
- Garlic can be planted this month by breaking a whole bulb into cloves and planting them four to six inches apart in a three-inch deep trench and covering with soil. Unless the temperature is unusually cold, foliage will grow through the winter, and a new bulb will form and be ready for harvest next summer. Since garlic remains in the ground for a long period of time, be sure you plant it where it will not be in the way of other vegetables you may plant later. Select a location in full sun and set large cloves four to six inches apart at a depth of three inches. When toliage emerges it will remain through the winter. Harvest when the leaves begin to yellow.
- This is a good time to have your soil tested. If the results indicate lime is needed, remember that it takes approximately five months for the lime to work into the soil. If you want a garden in the same area next year, till in lime after your summer garden is finished. Then the soil will be ready in time for spring planting.
- Webworms can cause considerable damage to pecan trees by eating the toliage. If these pests are present. they can be identified by weblike nests at the ends of branches. Begin checking for webworms this month and continue through the fall. If they are present, remove and destroy the webs or apply a spray of bacillus thuringiensis. Poke the sprayer wand through the webs that you can reach so that the spray will cover the leaves.
- Many trees and shrubs are now setting fruit and flower buds for next season so it is important that the plants have suffcient water at this time. A lack of water now will reduce next season’s crop of fruit or flowers. Use mulch to help conserve moisture and keep the soil temperature cooler during the “dog days” of August. Also, use soaker hoses to water deeply and minimize water loss due to evaporation.
- If your bedding plants are beginning to fade, remove them and re-seed the area with petunias, marigolds and zinnias to provide your beds with color this fall.
- Give your shrubs a final light pruning in early August. An exception to this is spring-blooming shrubs like azaleas. This will allow new growth to emerge and mature sufficiently before cold weather arrives.
- Do not continue pinching chrysanthemums or you will remove the flowerbuds which begin setting in late summer and early fall. Chrysanthemums will begin to flower aboul eight weeks after their final pinching. You can encourage greater flowering by ferlilizing the plants with about one-half pound per 100 square feet of 5-10-10 or other formulation recommended for mums.
- To encourage late summer bloom, cut the seed pods as soon as they form on crepe myrtle.
- If you are planning a fall garden, now is the time to set out transplants of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. You also can sow seeds of collards, kale, mustard, turnips and carrots. Okra matures rapidly so be sure to inspect your crop every other day. Harvest pods when they are three to four inches long. If you fail to harvest for a few days, remove any oversize pods or the plants will cease production. To keep from damaging the plants and bruising the pods, cut the pods off rather than pulling them.
WHAT’S BLOOMING?
In my yard – daisies, black-eyed Susans, liriope, phlox, crepe myrtle, althea, guaranica blue sage (salvia).
