August air is thick. Walking through the garden in the morning is like stepping into a sauna. While dawn is the coolest part of the day, it is still sultry. August gardening in the Southeast is not for the faint at heart. Some even give up and pray that September comes premature.
Effectively, gardening during August requires a program change, if you don’t relish punishment. I happen to tolerate an August garden since the wildlife keeps me interested, but admittedly, the anticipation of this meteorological fall, which often occurs towards the end of the month, is among my favourite times in the gardening season. I press in August and enjoy the South in all its glory that is psychedelic.
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Harvest vegetable gardens as necessary. Most of what you have growing in your own vegetable garden are annuals. By August, they’re searching a little wrung out. As plants finish their production cycle, remove them in the garden; otherwise, they may attract insects and disease to the crops that are still productive.
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Deadhead flowers. Keep your flowers flowering longer by removing faded blossoms from the cannas, roses, daisies and more.
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Fertilizer dos and performn’ts. As August arrives, some crops will benefit from a program of fertilizer. For other crops, it might do more damage than good.
Do fertilize:
Summer fruits like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant continue to produce when fertilized regularly. Use a product that contains 5% nitrogen.Fall vegetable cropsFall-blooming perennial and annual flowersChrysanthemums and dahliasCannasReblooming iris would gain from a mild applicationWarm season lawns (Bermuda and Zoysia) can be fertilizedRemember to water any use of fertilizer well into the soil to supply nutrients for the roots of the plants.
Don’t fertilize:
Azaleas and camellias, since the compost will disturb bud formation.Summer-flowering shrubs shouldn’t require pruning for exactly the exact same reason.
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Water your container crops well. From hanging baskets to veggies to the deck, the majority of us possess some sort of container planting. August can be hot, so be sure to keep your container plantings well hydrated.
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Propagate roses. Roses could be propagated by layering as late as mid-August. Long, flexible canes are the easiest to propagate since they’re easiest to bend into place. Use a clean knife to remove two thorns near the top of the stem and then bend it toward the ground. Make a couple of small cuts into the bark involving in which the thorns were. This is called “wounding the cane.” Hold the wounded region in touch with the dirt with landscape pins and cover with dirt, leaving the growing tip of the stem discovered. It’s also a fantastic idea to put a brick or stone over the covered and wounded cane to give it extra grip.
Next spring, you should see new growth emerge. Once you see new leaves around the rooted stem, carefully remove the entire stem from the parent plant, and recut the stem just under the new root mass. Now you are ready to plant your new rose bush.
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Pests. See these in your own pines? They’re the Pine Sawfly larvae. Pick them off and drop them in a bucket of soapy water.
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Bulbs. Select and preorder your own spring-blooming bulbs now while supplies are plentiful. Don’t put off today what’ll be gone tomorrow. The peculiar bulbs sell out. I can say this now since I have already put in my order. Try something interesting like the species tulip Tulipa clusiana.
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Cut blossoms. Recall those zinnias you seeded in July? Seed more in August, and be sure to cut some to appreciate indoors!
More:
Guides to gardening in the Southeast