This is a month (July) of varied garden activities. There are always some odd planting jobs, and garden maintenance goes on, even in hot, dry weather. But mostly we should try to relax and enjoy the many lovely shrubs that come into flower this month.
Blooming in July are bottlebrush, hypericum, Florida jasmine, plumb ago, hibiscus, lantana, buddleia, abelia, gardenia, oleander. crape myrtle, roses, weigeia, kerria, hydrangea, beautybush, vitex, Spiraea billardi, and spiraea Anthony Waterer. This is the season to take softwood cuttings of these shrubs if you wish to propagate them; and, for more color in the summer garden, you might plan to set out a few this fall or winter.
Summer pruning. You can prolong the flowering of crape myrtles if old flower heads are cut off so that seed pods do not develop. At the same time, feed them to encourage more vigorous and prolific flowering.
Lawn planting. Seeds of Bermuda, centipede, and carpet grass can still be planted. More important at this time, however, is the planting of Bermudas, centipede, St. Augustine, and Zoysias, either by solid sodding or by sprigs or plugs.
For fescue and bluegrass lawns in the Upper South, set your mowers to cut high, 2 to 2 1/2 inches. Spray lawns for summer crabgrass control, using a post-emergence killer.
Bulb planting. Toward the end of the month you can begin setting out lycoris, colchicums, sternbergias, locally grown Easter lilies, and Godfrey calla lilies.
Keep your dahlias growing. Feed once a month, keep them well watered, staked, and disbudded.
Start perennial and biennial seeds in frames or boxes to have new plants ready to set out in the garden this fall. This applies to all those which are not grown as named varieties and which come true from seed.
Borers give us a lot of trouble, especially on peaches, plums, dogwoods, and pine trees. This is the season when the adult moths lay eggs on the bark of these trees, particularly on peach trees. Keep the bark sprayed with Malathion or a similar insecticide.
Roses slow down considerably in July and August, mostly as a result of severe defoliation from black spot and rust diseases. Besides following the regular schedule of spraying or dusting with a combination pesticide, try 5 pounds of 50 per cent wettable captan powder per 25 square feet, spreading it over the entire rose bed and working it into the soil. Water. Repeat the treatment a month tater. This will be far more effective than limiting your treatment to one application only.
Buds are developing for next year’s flowers on azaleas, camellias, and dogwoods. Never let the plants become dry during summer and early fall.
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