July 2008

The Gardener's

 Dirt                               

 RAINWATER STORAGE:  RAIN BARRELS AND MORE

 Hummingbird Mint

Fall Webworm

 GENERAL IDEAS

• Water deeply but infrequently, this will encourage deep rooting of plants for better drought resistance.
• Control fungal diseases which flourish in hot and humid weather by keeping irrigation water off foliage.  The best time to water is early morning.  This allows the sun to dry water from foliage. Watering in early evening creates damp foliage all night, which encouraging the development of fungal diseases.
• Help reduce the mosquito population by emptying any containers with standing water.  Mosquito larva can grow in shallow water, like plant saucers that do not dry completely.

• When should you water your lawn?  When the grass blades  are just starting to curl and your footprints remain on the lawn when you walk on it.  Watering too often encourages a lawn with a shallow root system that cannot handle drought well.  Apply an inch of water, in the early morning.  Set your timer for 4 am if you can.  
• Grasses vary in their needs. Check out the Lawn Maintenance Calendar for your grass and learn how best to care for it, month by month ...
• Bermuda - http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/articles/tf0016.aspx
• Centipede - http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/articles/tf0019.aspx
• Zoysiagrass - http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/articles/tf0020.aspx
• Tall Fescue - http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/articles/tf0017.aspx
• Keep fescue mowed at a height of 3 - 3 1/2 inches to help it survive hot, dry periods.  It is a cool season grass that slows down in the summer.  If it is cut it too short the tender roots will be exposed to extreme heat which will certainly damage, if not kill them.  It is also difficult for fescue to recover from cutting too short as it is not actively growing at this time.  
• Repair Warm-Season Lawns: Bermuda, Zoysia, and centipede are growing strong by now, making it easy to see spots that are weak or weedy. Pull weeds and patch bare spots if you haven't already.
• Established fescue lawns naturally go semi-dormant in the heat of July. Established fescue can survive up to three weeks without water, but will need a drink if it doesn't rain by then! Water only when grass shows sign of wilt (footprints show when grass is walked on). Fescue planted last fall will need watering every week. See the Fescue Lawn Maintenance Calendar (link above).

TREES, SHRUBS & ORNAMENTALS

• When you visit your roses, clip off leaves that show early evidence of blackspot - a common fungal disease that causes black spots on leaves. Put the spotted leaves in the garbage (not in the compost pile.)
• When gathering cut flowers to bring indoors, cut stems early in the day.  Bring them indoors and recut the ends while they are submerged in a sink of water.
• Don't use Japanese beetle traps.  The pheromones in the traps often attract beetles that would not otherwise visit the area.  To control a particularly pesky group of beetles, go hunting for them in early morning and shake them into a bowl of soapy water to get rid of them.
• Keep potted plants watered! Plants in pots outside may need daily watering in the heat of summer.
• Pinch out the tips of garden mums to encourage lower, compact plants with many flowers.
• Start stem cuttings of geraniums and leaf cuttings of succulents to be potted for use as house plants this winter.
• Propagate shrubs by rooting cuttings. Semi-hardwood cuttings of Azalea, Camellia, and Holly can be taken this month. The wood should be hardened enough that the stem breaks when bent. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8702.html
• Prune spent crape myrtle blossoms to prolong the flowering period.  
• Sooty Mold on the crape myrtles will make the leaves appear dark and sooty or almost uniformly charcoal gray. Sooty mold grows on honeydew (the sticky leftovers) from aphids. Control the aphids, and the mold will wash off.
• Powdery Mildew makes leaves appear gray and powdery. It's a common problem which disfigures the foliage, but doesn't kill the tree.
• Hand-pick bagworms off evergreens. Pesticides are not effective once the caterpillars are safe in their bags.
• Remove vigorous upright sprouts growing from tree roots ("suckers"), or from the upper surfaces of tree branches ("water sprouts").  Pruning the sprouts out directs the tree's energy into desirable growth.
• Weed when it's easy. Weeds are easier to pull when the soil is moist, so wait until after a soaking rain or irrigate the area first. The roots of desirable plants can be injured by pulling large weeds nearby so pull those weeds in late afternoon or on cloudy days, and water the area afterward to help injured plants recover.
• Start seeds for cool-weather annuals indoors in July/August for fall planting. Try foxglove, pansy, alyssum, snapdragons, ornamental cabbage (kale), and primroses.  Pansy seeds germinate well when stored in the refrigerator (not freezer) for 10-14 days before planting.    

VEGETABLES & FRUITS

• Pinch out the tips of blackberry shoots when they reach about 4 feet tall.  This helps form a tidier hedgerow for easy picking.
• Soon after tomatoes begin to set fruit, give them a boost of fertilizer to keep them vigorous and productive. Most of the new varieties are heavy producers if provided with good nutrition and adequate soil moisture.  

LANDSCAPE IDEAS

• Deckscape: Play with colors, textures, and the placement of furniture on your deck or patio. Use container-grown plants, windsocks and sculptures to change or fine-tune your color scheme and overall feel.
• Think strategy. Now that deciduous trees and shrubs are in leaf, survey your landscape critically. Do you have too much? too little? are plants too low where screening is needed? So tall a view is blocked? Take photographs and make plans to add or move shrubs this fall. Don't do it now.

WILDLIFE

• Put out a bird-bath.  Keep it filled with fresh water.  Change it once a week to minimize mosquitoes. Birds will pay you back by eating lots of insects!  
• Think twice about squashing caterpillars; many turn into butterflies.  This is just one example of what swallowtail caterpillars look like.  This is a swallowtail butterfly(right).  Swallowtail caterpillars (left) love parsley, so set out a few extra plants to share with them. A pan of moistened pebbles or sand will attract butterflies.

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