MGEVs, are you part of the media team in your local program? Do you write articles for local newspapers? your office blogs or websites? contribute to your county Extension’s social media sites? If so, then this post is for you!
You might use this list as a source of article ideas to cover more in depth. You might want to re-post to your county blog site to share with people in your county. As with any of our written materials, please share with your Extension agent first prior to publishing!
The summer sunshine, heat, and humidity have been working on annuals and perennials in the garden. By now, they may be looking the best they have all season or even starting to fade. Here are a few tips for tending annuals and perennials in the garden during August:
- Deadhead any spent blooms to make way for more.
- Fertilize any warm-season annuals to encourage continued vigor and bloom. Slow-release fertilizers with 3-month formulas that were applied in spring are most likely spent and may need an additional application. Liquid fertilizer applications can be applied following label directions every other week.
- Cut back any spent foliage from bulbs or other perennials. If daylily foliage is brown, dried, and shriveled, it can be clipped back to ground level without harm to the plant.
- Continue to monitor for presence of insect pests or disease. Many insect issues can be resolved without pesticides if spotted early.
Photos courtesy of Dr. Sheri Dorn, UGA Horticulture
- Keep an eye out for the presence of beneficial insects. What may appear initially as a pest consuming foliage may actually be the larvae of butterflies or moths! Avoid applications of broad-spectrum insecticides that will harm pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Lacewing adult (predator) 
Lacewing eggs 
Lacewing larvae eating aphids
- Soon, fall-flowering bulbs will appear in the landscape. Enjoy the blooms of Lycoris, Colchicum, and others.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Sheri Dorn, UGA Horticulture
- Think ahead for the fall! You may want to refresh annuals in planters, containers, and beds. Cool-season annuals, such as pansies, snapdragons, and dusty miller, will soon appear in stores. Remember that these need cooler temperatures, so don’t purchase too early!
- Scout your landscape now to identify locations that could benefit from flowering bulbs. It will soon be time for bulbs to become available for purchase.
