Trees and Shrubs – Cuttings of deciduous shrubs may be rooted in late June;
root 6-inch clippings in damp sand, keeping it moist and roots may form by
September.
One of the best things you can do for your trees and shrubs is to eliminate
nutrient and water competition by removing the grass and weeds growing at the
base of your plant and add about two inches of mulch.
Remove small sprouts from the base and from the trunk of tree-form crape
myrtles.
Prune azaleas (if needed) after they have finished blooming and make sure they
have about 2 inches of mulch.
Prune climbing roses after blooming finishes, cutting away weak, old or woody
canes.
Prune hydrangeas (if needed) when most of the flowers have faded.
Vegetables – Don\u2019t kill the big green caterpillars that get on your parsley or
fennel. They will soon become beautiful swallowtail butterflies.
If you like the taste of homegrown tomatoes but do not have garden space, patio
type tomatoes can be grown on a sunny porch (6 hours minimum sun) in a 24-
inch pot or larger.
Fertilize tomato plants regularly, inspect them for signs of leaf diseases and
spray with fungicide if necessary. Always follow label directions.
Harvest vegetables regularly to prolong production and enjoy your vegetables at
the peak of their freshness. One ripe vegetable on your okra or squash plant
halts blooming on the entire plant. Use a knife when harvesting so you will not
damage your plant.
Watch for Japanese beetles in your garden. Hand-pick them or spray with an
insect killer, always following label directions. Systemic products are also on the
market, but they may kill beneficial insects as well as the Japanese beetles.
Plant corn in several short rows, side by side, instead of a long single row
because wind currents pollinate it, not insects.
Plant herbs in sunny patio pots near your kitchen and you can start harvesting
leaves in a few weeks. Your plants will grow best if you harvest regularly.
Container grown vegetables and flowers can dry out quickly on a patio in full sun.
Daily watering may be necessary.
Be careful if you must work in your garden when the soil is too wet. When
planting, the wet soil will clump together and possibly leave air pockets that will
dry out your plant\u2019s roots. Water in new plantings well.
Mulch your vegetable garden with pine straw or wheat straw. You can use three
sheets of newspaper to cover the ground around your plants, then cover the
paper with straw.
Water cucumbers regularly so they won\u2019t have a bitter taste.
Check garden crops daily for disease and insect problems.
Harvest onions, garlic and Irish potatoes when two thirds of the plant tops have
died down.
Pull weeds from vegetable gardens and flowerbeds weekly.
Flowerbeds – An easy formula for creating a beautiful container garden is to use
a single tall plant with a trailer that spills over the edge, along with some plants to
fill in the gaps.
Divide the iris after they bloom.
Use soaker hoses to irrigate annuals, perennials, shrubs and vegetables.
Remove faded flowers from summer annuals to prevent a lull in blooming.
Some quick growing annuals you can grow in your garden are cleome, cosmos,
marigold and zinnia.
Look for seedlings under your Lenten roses and transplant them to other shady
spots in your garden or share them with a friend.
Check dahlias for spider mites and spray with an insecticide, if necessary, always
following label directions. Clip the faded flowers to encourage blooms through
the summer.
Stake tall growing flowers like dahlias, lilies and hollyhocks.
Cut back chrysanthemums so they won\u2019t be too leggy later in the summer and
fall when they bloom.
Continue planting annuals for summer color and fill in bare spots in your flower
garden.
Summer blooming bulbs can still be planted.
Fertilize flowerbeds.
Houseplants – Houseplants that have been moved outdoors may require more
water during summer months.
Divide overgrown Boston ferns.
Miscellaneous – During hot weather, raise the height of your mower to help your
lawn withstand hot, dry weather.
Install a birdbath and enjoy the show.
Jo Anne Allen
Master Gardener Extension Volunteer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trees and Shrubs – Cuttings of deciduous shrubs may be rooted in late June;root 6-inch clippings in damp sand, keeping it moist and roots may form by September.One of the best things you can do for your trees and shrubs is to eliminate nutrient and water competition by removing the grass and weeds growing at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":340,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-master-gardener-chores"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/townsandunionag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}