Be sure to stop by Betty's if you have any questions or need advice.

Fertilizer. The best time to fertilize warm-season grasses, e.g. Bermuda and Zoysia, is between April 1st and August 15th. If you haven't done your second application, July is the perfect time for it.
If you have a cool-season lawn like tall fescue, mid-summer is the wrong time to fertilize. If your lawn is looking pale, it is probably because the high soil temperatures make naturally occurring iron (an essential micro-nutrient) unavailable to the roots of turf grass. To regain and maintain good lawn color for 12 more weeks, treat with a chelated iron product now. Betty's stocks 'Minor Miracle (8-2-3) with 10% Iron', Rockland STA Preferential Treatment and 'Milorganite with 4% iron.

Lime. There is no wrong time to apply lime to your lawn. If it has been more than a year since your last application, apply lime this month at the rate of 40 lbs per 1000 square feet of turf. Lime raises the pH level of our rather acid soil. Turf grasses prefer sweet or alkaline soil and will be unable to take up nutrients if the soil is too acid.

Poa Annua is a low growing, seed-headed grass. Even your newly mown lawn will look messy if it includes much of this weed grass. If you are not planning to seed this fall, you may apply 'Barricade' by August 1st to wipe out the poa annua.

Drought. Set your lawn mower up 1/2" to 1" during long dry spells. The longer grass blades will help lessen moisture loss and keep the roots cooler.

TREES and SHRUBS

Lawn Mower Injuries. Even small scrapes and bumps with a lawnmower on the bark of a tree can result in life-threatening injury. The tiny vessels through which water and nutrients are carried up the trunk to the leaves and back down the trunk as processed food are in the outer skin of the trunk just under the bark. And, as with any wound, infections may enter at the site and spread. The easiest solution is to surround your valuable trees with mulch rings … good sized ones with only 3-4" of mulch. Mulch which is too deep doesn't permit water to penetrate to the soil level.

Prune. Wisteria goes rampant from May to frost. Pruning it back hard and often not only keeps your garden from being engulfed but encourages the production of flowering spurs for next year's bloom.

Evergreen shrubs continue to grow this month. Prune back as needed for appearance and good air circulation. You can avoid bare branches at the bottom of an evergreen shrub by pruning to a more narrow silhouette at the top and broader at the bottom. This allows sunlight to reach the lower branches.

Hydrangeas may be pruned after they finish blooming. Trim out any weak or dead canes all the way to the ground. Prune back the canes that flowered this year to a healthy lateral bud. This encourages branching and compact growth. If you leave this task until fall, it may be very difficult to figure out which branches bloomed this year and which will have next year's bloom!

Fertilize summer flowering shrubs this month. This will include althea (Rose of Sharon), butterfly bush, crape myrtle, clethra (summersweet) and hydrangea. To prolong bloom on crape myrtle into the fall, keep watered during bloom time, fertilize with a low nitrogen-high phosphorus (the middle number) product and clip off seed capsules as they form from older blooms.

Powdery Mildew is a grayish-white coating on many trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials and annuals at this time of year. It is a disease which can damage and disfigure a plant. Crape myrtle and lilac are often affected among shrubs. Any relatively large leaved herbaceous plant is likely to be a target. The perpetrators are humidity and poor air circulation. The cure is proper pruning to promote good air circulation and an excellent systemic fungicide. Bayleton can control disease on flowers, lawns, shrubs and trees when used as a preventative. Systemic Fungicide 3336 WP controls black spot, powdery mildew, root rot, stem and leaf blight, rust and other diseases on most ornamental plants. Never use a systemic on an edible plant. Systemic means that it is taken up into the whole plant system and remains there.

Sooty Mold looks a lot like powdery mildew only it is black. It is a fungus but appropriate treatment goes to the root cause, aphids. Aphids secrete a 'honey' which is the perfect breeding ground for sooty mold. The mold and 'honey' can actually be cleaned off a particularly prominent plant in your landscape (with patience and soap … not detergent … and water.) To prevent a recurrence you must rid the plant of aphids. As we've mentioned before, aphids can be dislodged from a plant with a strong blast of water from a hose. Insecticidal soaps can be moderately effective. Malathion is the strongest effective insecticide that may be used on edibles. 'Orthene' and 'Isotox IV' are two very effective systemic insecticides for use on ornamental plants.

Slugs. When humidity is high, the slug population multiplies. They tend to eat Hosta and any other tender leaved plant they can slime their way up. They feed at night. Trapping the slugs under pieces of cardboard (where they crawl to stay out of the sun) or in sunken bowls of water or beer are time honored remedies. They do require that you look at the slugs at some point. Diatomaceous earth (ground sea shells) sprinkled around valuable plants makes it tough on the slug's tummy. Slug poisons in both liquid and pellet forms are available as well.

GARDENS

Iris. Dig up and divide crowded iris toward the end of July. How do you know if they're crowded? How did they bloom this year? If you noticed a reduction in blooms, it's time to divide. Cut the rhizomes into 2-4 inch pieces, each with some foliage. Trim back the foliage to 6-7 inches in the shape of an inverted 'V'. Replant the rhizomes on one foot centers with the top of the rhizome still showing above the soil. Water well.

Vegetable Garden Beds. Have you noticed a reduction in the productivity of your vegetable garden despite good watering and fertilization practices? The culprit may be that lovely tree way across the lawn. Tree roots are amazingly greedy. If there are many stiff little roots in your garden soil (rather than fleshy, herbaceous roots) the tree has found the garden bed. A deep, narrow trench cut all the away around your garden bed will cure this problem. The trench must be renewed each growing season.

GARDENERS

Mosquitoes. Most people know that mosquitoes breed in standing water. You may not, however, have thought about your birdbath. It's best to change out the water at least once a week. When you empty the basin, rinse out the 'red stuff' with a solution of 10% chlorine bleach and water. If you have a deep birdbath, you could toss in a couple of goldfish to take care of the mosquitoes. Tender hearted souls should probably stick with cleaning.

Poison Oak and Ivy flourish in our area. You may not be aware of a product by 'technu', Poison Oak and Ivy Skin Cleaner. If you suspect you have come into contact with either plant, within two to eight hours of contact you can apply the product to dry skin, rub in vigorously and wipe off. The cleaner will remove the plant oils which cause the allergic reaction. You may also use it to clean off clothing and equipment you suspect is contaminated. If you were unsuspecting but broke out in a rash anyway, you can still use the cleaner to prevent spread of the rash.

Did you know that our favorite summer light show, lightning bugs, also helps gardeners? The larvae of the lightning bug eat mites, slugs, snails and other soft-bodied insects.