by Bronwynne Bailey
Planning
Continue to update your gardening calendar. Refer to it next year. For example, if you noticed that your clematis started getting powdery mildew in July, try treating it in June to prevent the disease. Also, photographing your garden over the seasons creates a visual record of your garden through the year.
Planting
- Plant pumpkin seeds for a Halloween harvest. Larger varieties need to be planted July 2.
- Root cuttings of azaleas, boxwoods, camellias, and gardenias in a fine pine bark/coarse sand mix. Cuttings should be 4–6 inches from new growth with lower leaves removed. Do not let dry out.
- Root cuttings for house plants: ivies, wandering Jews, philodendrons, and begonias.
- Divide and transplant bearded iris using the vigorous ends of the rhizomes. Discard the old center portion. Cut the leaves back to about six inches.
- Start seeds indoors for heading cold crops for your fall garden now. Direct sow, radish, carrots, beets, turnips, and kale, in late July through August.
- Seeds can continue to be sown throughout July for late crops of beets, bush beans, carrots, chard, summer spinach, cucumbers, and summer squash. Cover with pre-moistened potting soil mix which will not be so likely to crust and crack. To hold in the moisture, cover the rows with a very thin layer of mulch or floating row cover fabric.
Fertilizing
- Do not fertilize camellias after July 1.
- Fertilize chrysanthemums around July 15 and cut height in half.
- Fertilize turf if recommended.
Pruning
- Pinch herbs like basil, mint, oregano, and savory to promote bushy growth.
- Remove faded flowers from crape myrtle to encourage a second blooming.
- Cut back mum height by half before July 15.
- All vegetables must be picked regularly to ensure continued bearing.
- When cutting boxwoods into a hedge, make sure the bases are wider than the tops to allow sunlight to reach the bases of the plants.
- Prune roses to encourage blooms.
Miscellaneous
- Water all ornamentals weekly to a depth of 1 inch if it does not rain.
- Cut grass at a slightly higher level during hot weather to reduce stress.
- Treat turf with a post-emergent herbicide product to remove unwanted weeds.
- Keep your garden tools and mower blades sharp to make gardening easier. Dirt, rocks, sidewalks and soil quickly dull metal edges. Hone your working edge easily with a cut mill file available at your local hardware store or purchase a specialized garden tool sharpener.
- Consider a Home Consult if you have questions or want to try something new. Master Gardeners can be reached by leaving a message at the MSU Extension Office 662-234-4451. A home consultant specialist will contact you to schedule a visit or answer questions.
Home Accent
Do not leave house plants in your closed home over an extended vacation. Either water and place them under a shade tree or have someone water them for you.
Blooming
- Sourwoods and Pee Gee hydrangeas.
- Cleomes, Four-o’clocks, impatiens, marigolds, periwinkles, plumbagos, portulaca, ageratum, zinnias, butterfly weeds, cosmos, dahlias, daylilies, rudbeckias, scabiosas, Shasta daisies, verbenas, veronicas.
