Watering

Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs

• Deadhead flower stalks.

• As they grow, keep tying vines and climbing roses to their supports. Stake tall flower stalks (e.g. dahlias and delphiniums).

• Divide and replant irises.

• Plant fall-blooming bulbs (e.g. autumn crocus).

• The final fertilizing of roses should be done by mid-August.

Shrubs and Trees

• Stake newly planted trees, making sure the stake is on the windward side.

• In mid-month, prune cedars, cypresses and junipers.  Trim off no more than half of the new growth.  Shear yews and hemlock.

Fruits and Veggies

• Pinch off the growing stem tips from eggplant, pepper, melon, and tomato plants to promote ripening of their existing fruits and vegetables.

• Midsummer plantings of beets, bush beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, kale, and peas will provide fall and winter crops.

• When the stalk tips of onions yellow, fold down the stalks just above the bulbs to hasten ripening and produce larger bulbs.

• Trim off raspberry canes that bore this year to about 4-6 inches above ground.

• Harvest herbs for drying or freezing.

• Sow a final crop of radishes and kale for fall harvest.

Lawns

• Repair any bare spots in the lawn by sowing seed or laying slabs of sod.  Keep the areas well watered until the grass is established.

• see Feed and Fix Your Lawn

• If the weather is still hot and dry, keep the mower blades about 3 or more inches above the ground.

• Avoid using fertilizers in hot, dry weather.

House Plants

• Continue to watch for insect or disease damage and take the necessary steps to control the problem.  This is particularly important for plants that are "summering" outdoors.

• If the weather remains warm, it will be necessary to water and mist your house plants more often, as will drier air in air-conditioned homes.

• Keep feeding your house plants with 1/2 the recommended strength of a good soluble house plant fertilizer while they are actively growing.

• Change humming bird nectar regularly now into fall, as the hummers will be returning to their winter "resorts" starting soon, and you will want to have refreshments ready for them!

• Start harvesting seeds from annuals, perennials and shrubs that attract birds and butterflies for sowing next spring.  Don't disturb any pupas that find on these plants.

• Provide a water source and clean and replace water daily or more often in heat waves.

• Keep your feeders full - third broods are fledging now, and birds that fly south for the winter will begin dropping by in northern zones.

Odds and Ends

• Keep the weeds pulled, before they have a chance to flower and go to seed again. Otherwise, you will be fighting newly germinated weed seed for the next several years.

• Continue to watch for insect or disease damage throughout the garden, and take the necessary steps to control the problem.