Belmont Nursery Tips and Tricks for July Gardening

Maintaining and enhancing gardens during the peak of summer.

1. Love Your Heat-Tolerant Plants:

How are your zinnias or marigolds doing? Crapemyrtles? Those summer-blooming beauties that are working so hard for you right now…keep them happy by dead-heading (take off old blooms), make sure they have consistent water, and if you feel they need fertilizer, apply it at a half-rate and water well afterwards. 

2. Watering Strategies:

Watering in the morning is the best time for the summer heat. Plants will slow down during the middle of the day as a defense against the temps and not utilize water as well then. Deeper watering, as opposed to frequent shallow water will create a more water-wise plant. Roots are not on the surface where it is baking in the sun. 

3. Soil Health:

Before we humans discovered the joy of plants, they lived alone in their own environment. Old leaves and other materials would break down and make the natural soil blends the plants needed. We can imitate that by regularly adding organic material to your garden or landscape to improve drainage and nutrition. Mulching will also aid in water retention and weed control.

4. Pest and Disease Management:

Summer brings out a lot of different challenges with the landscape, and a consistent issue is the aphids, whiteflies and mites. These critters are sometimes difficult to control as they are prolific and have many varied hosts. Mites tend to like dry and dusty environments, so hosing down the plants occasionally can be a deterrent, and your plants will appreciate the bath during the summer! Identifying the host plant and the insect on it is the first step in keeping the plants happy!

5. Lawn Care:

Mowing lawns at a slightly taller height will keep the moisture from being baked out of the soil. You might need to mow a little more often to keep the edge on it, but taking just a little off the top will certainly make a difference. Watering a little longer rather than a little more often is a better option, even for lawns. If you can’t run the sprinklers as long as you might need, do several smaller increments, and again, just in the morning. This will keep some of those fungus issues at bay!

Make sure that you stay hydrated also!

Enjoy your summer gardening and experiment with new plants and techniques.

Here’s a link to a video of some of our favorites! 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WGtT05B3-pfJ86eGeLse7xqn4_JdH_-D/view?usp=sharing