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Garden Tips for Zone 6
July Gardening Guide
July is one of the loveliest months in the garden, but now is when it's important to keep watering and to watch out for insect pests and plant diseases.
An occasional rain helps, but it won't replace watchful watering, especially of plants in window boxes and containers.
If you haven't done so already, make sure hoses and sprinklers are in good repair and ready for heavy use in July and August.
Many of the most beautiful flowers in the garden are in bloom now.
Roses, nasturtiums, zinnias, marigolds, liatris, poker plant, salvia and carnations are all giving a show.
But, July is the time to start thinking of fall planting and preparations for that, especially if you intend on using flower seeds.
If you will be starting seeds indoors, do so with asters, chrysanthemums, pansies and ornamental kale (look for this among the vegetable seeds).
Seeds started indoors in July, will be ready for transplant by September.
Other types of seeds for fall can be planted outdoors in July, and some perennials can be divided and transplanted, as well.
Remember that July is also the month when many people take vacations—and their gardens suffer while they're gone, if they don't have a sprinkler system. Arrange for someone to water while you're away, particularly the containers.
Here are the tips for July.
INDOORS
Houseplants
- Feed all houseplants at full strength this month.
- Water houseplants when an inch of the topsoil feels dry to the touch. Air conditioning robs indoor air of moisture. The soil in houseplant containers can quickly dry out. But, as usual, do not over-water. Check the top inch of soil with your finger. If it feels dry, water.
- If houseplants are exploding with new summer growth, consider dividing and repotting them. Also, older plants that are root-bound would benefit from larger pots.
- South and southwest exposure windowsills can get very hot during summer months. Move tender houseplants away from hot, direct sun.
Here are some useful, free information sources for gardening and weather.
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OUTDOORS
July Tips for Lawn Care
- Cut grass a high as possible. This means adjusting the wheel settings on the lawn mower so that the blade sits at the highest point and cuts off only the top few inches of grass. Use the mulching function on the mower, if it has one. Cutting grass high helps keep the plants cool and prevents sunburn. It also helps retain soil moisture.
- Fertilize at full strength and apply weed controls, if needed. Some experts advise using another round of pre-emergent weed controls.
- July is rough on blue grass. Keep it watered and cut it high. The other option is to let it go dormant during the hot, dry months. Keeping it green will require a great amount of watering during July and August, so decide—based on your gardening budget—how much you want to spend this month on lawn watering.
- If you didn't do it in the past three months, you can still apply lawn pest controls.
Annuals
- Plant zinnia seeds outdoors as late as the last week of July. Keep young plants well watered and cultivated to encourage rapid growth.
- Trim old blooms off annuals as soon they fade. Coleus, especially, should be trimmed of all flower spikes. This "deadheading" of spent flowers keeps the garden neat, but also helps the plants produce more blooms, since they won't be expending energy on seed production. It also prevents plants from self-sowing in your garden.
- Cut back flowers that are suffering from heat. In extreme heat and drought, plants have trouble supporting long stems. They will regenerate if you keep them watered.
- If annuals, such as petunias, get leggy (long, scraggly stems) and produce few blooms, cut them back severely, creating a rounded, compact plant. Feed at full strength and water well. They'll bloom again soon.
- Keep an eye on window boxes and container plants. Remove old blooms and pinch off growing tips to encourage bushy growth. Putting mulch on top of container soil will help retain moisture.
- This month, dahlias need continued pinching, watering and dusting or spraying to deter insects. Make sure dahlias are securely staked. If you didn't pinch out the terminal buds last month, do it as soon as possible. The terminal buds of side branches may also be removed to induce further branching. If buds appear in threes, remove the two side ones and lateral shoots that appear, thus providing for the full development of the one central bud. Keep dusting with pyrethrum to control pests. During hot, dry weather, water dahlias deeply about every five days. Mulch will help keep down weeds and conserve moisture.
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July Tips for Bulbs
- Dig up and store spring-blooming bulbs—crocus, daffodils, hyacinth, jonquil, iris, tulips, etc—if you intend to transplant them in the fall. Their foliage should have died down by July. Clean off, label and store the bulbs in a cool, dry place. If you are naturalizing these bulbs (letting them grow and spread where they want), don't disturb them. But, if you want to thin them, now is the time to separate the bulbs.
July Tips for Perennials
- All perennials should be fed at least once this month. This helps strengthen them against disease and insects, while encouraging blooms, as well as root and foliage growth. Spring-blooming perennials, such as peonies, are strengthening for next year's blooms.
- "Deadheading" is also important for perennials. Trim spent blooms as soon as they have faded. For instance, remove old flower spikes from hostas, coral bells and bleeding heart. Depleted peony flowers also should be removed.
- If perennials are suffering from extreme heat and drought, cut back and then water and feed generously. They should revive.
- Continue pinching chrysanthemums every ten days until the end of July. Then stop. Pinching the growing tips encourages bushy growth and more fall blooms. Continue feeding until the first of September.
- Treat hardy asters in the same fashion as chrysanthemums. They will bloom at the same time and also should be pinched back and fed during their growing seasons in late summer. Target days for pinching: July 1 and 15.
- If you are growing a poinsettia outdoors, take cuttings from it in July and start them for new plants by December. (This can also be done in June.)
- Proper pruning and correct flower-cutting of roses in July will encourage fall blooms. Cut flowers just above a leaf having five leaflets. Prune leggy, diseased or damaged canes. Continue to spray or dust roses, even though blooms are becoming more scarce. Fertilize roses for the last time this year with a good rose food. Keep watching for insect pests and diseases and apply controls as needed.
- Almost every flower imaginable is in bloom during July. Here are some of the perennials that will be flowering now. Look for these in your garden:
Anchusa (Alkanet) |
Anthemis (Golden Marguerite) |
Artemesia (Silver Mound) |
Astilbe (False Spirea) |
Baby's Breath (Gypsophila) |
Balloon Flower (Platycodon) |
Bee Balm |
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias) |
Centauria (Cornflower) |
Cerastium (Snow-in-Summer) |
Chinese Lantern (Physalis) |
Coral Bells (Heuchera) |
Coreopsis (Tickseed) |
Cupid's Dart (Catanache) |
Daylily |
Dianthus (Pinks/Sweet William) |
Felicia (Blue Daisy) |
Feverfew (Chrysanthemum) |
Flax (Linum) |
Fleabane (Erigeron) |
Geranium (Cranesbill) |
Globe Thistle (Echinops) |
Helianthus (Perennial Sunflower) |
Heliopsis (Oxeye) |
Hypericum (St. John's Wort) |
Iceland Poppy |
Hosta (Funkia/Plantain Lily) |
Jupiter's Beard (Red Valerian) |
Lavender |
Liatris (Gay Feather) |
Lupine |
Lychnis (Catchfly/Maltese Cross) |
Meadowsweet (Dropwort) |
Monkshood (Aconitum) |
Oenothera (Evening Primrose) |
Painted Daisy (Pyrethrum) |
Penstemon |
Phlox |
Poker Plant (Torch Lily) |
Potentilla (Cinquefoil) |
Rudbeckia (Coneflower/Echinacea) |
Salvia (Blue Sage) |
Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower) |
Sedum (Stonecrop) |
Stachys (Lamb's Ears) |
Stokesia (Stokes' Aster) |
Veronica (Speedwell) |
Yarrow (Achillea) |
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Dividing and transplanting
- Dig, divide and transplant iris bulbs and rhizomes this month. Also, any other spring-blooming bulbs, whose foliage has died down, may be dug and divided this month. However, transplant of these is recommended in the fall. Store them in a cool dry place until then.
- Here are some other perennials and biennials that can be seeded outdoors or divided and transplanted in July:
Name of Plant |
How to Propagate |
| Alyssum (Basket of Gold) |
(stem cuttings now for spring transplant) |
| Coreopsis (Tickseed) |
(seed) |
| Foxglove (Digitalis) |
(seed) |
| Hollyhock (Alcea Rosea) |
(seed) |
| Lunaria (Dollar Plant) |
(seed in protected area) |
| Oriental Poppy |
(root division, nursery stock) |
| Shasta Daisy |
(seed) |
Pests and Diseases
- Check all annual flowers for signs of bugs, including plants in containers and window boxes. Look for half-eaten leaves, holes in leaves, dead or dying stalks. Apply controls as needed.
- A troublesome pest this time of is the grasshopper. They will invade a garden and chew on almost any plant. They can ruin gardens in a short time if uncontrolled. As soon as you see them, apply pest controls.
- Check phlox for pests, such as red bug and red spider.
- Watch for signs of borers in shade trees, which can become susceptible because of drought, storm damage, poor pruning and attacks by other injurious insects.
- Keep an eye out for signs of termites. Look for earthen tunnels along foundation walls. Untreated woodwork that comes into contact with soil is in danger. Do not permit any woodwork to come in contact with the soil.
- Keep watching evergreens for signs of bagworms, which have been feeding since June.
- July is the time to look for signs of oak wilt disease.
- Look for stem borers on hollyhocks.
- Keep mosquito repellent for YOU handy. Keep some with your gardening tools. Use it each time you go outdoors. It will make gardening and any outdoor activities more comfortable.
- If mosquitoes are out of control, there is an application available for outdoor areas that will help repel mosquitoes if you are planning a barbecue or patio party. It lasts only a couple of days and must be applied prior to the event. Also, to prevent eruptions of mosquitoes, don't allow standing water in the garden.
- Pin oaks may develop galls at this time. These are swellings on the leaves and small branches. Various insects produce them. Most are harmless to the tree. Galls are difficult to eradicate. Most experts say just ignore them.
- Watch out for poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac—they like hot weather. Become familiar with the appearance of the plants and where they grow. Watch out when pulling weeds and beware of vines clinging to trees. Remember the three-lobed leaves of poison ivy. If you find any, use products designed to kill it. Do not try to remove it by hand. Herbicides that kill poison ivy may also damage nearby plants.
- Apply lawn insect controls, if needed. Treat for white flies, fleas, ticks, ants, etc.
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Pruning
- This is a good time to prune climbing roses. Thin so that half of the remaining wood is 2- to 3-years-old and the other half is new growth. Remove old flower stalks.
- Gently cut back shrubs and trim trees that are suffering from heat.
- Spirea pruned in July will bloom again.
- Japanese yews may require pruning now to keep them compact.
- Remove suckers from roses and ornamental and shade trees. Cut the suckers off below ground level, if possible. Apply a sucker retardant to keep them from reappearing.
Tools and Equipment
- Fix any hose leaks. With all the watering needed now, you could waste a lot of valuable water because of a leaky hose. Also, get a "Y" connection for the garden water spigot. That will allow use of two hoses at one time.
- Invest in a few good hose sprinklers. Different types work better in different parts of the lawn or garden. Also, consider using a timing device for hose sprinklers. These are found at hardware stores and gardening shops.
- Think about installing a sprinkler system—next spring or in the fall when the growing season is finished.
- Check the lawn mower for oil level. Clean clogged filters. Remove debris.
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Trees and Shrubs
- For newly planted trees and shrubs, continue watering thoroughly once a week. Even those in the second year will benefit from watering during hot, dry times.
- Fertilize evergreens with Mir-Acid.
- Harvest any fruit from apple, pear, cherry and peach trees. Don't leave rotting fruit on ground. It will attract bugs and animals.
Watering
- Remember to keep watering all blooming plants during hot and dry spells
- Water in the morning or evening. Make sure you water deeply enough (give details)
- If plants are suffering from heat, apply Wilt-Pruf, an anti-desiccant, and water thoroughly
Birds
- Don't forget the birds this month. They need water and will appreciate your keeping the birdbath full. Check it whenever you are watering the garden. Remember that birds are bug-eaters, plus they sing and add another level of color and beauty to your garden.
- Put out a humming bird feeder. Clean it frequently with baking soda water.
- Attract orioles and blue jays with a fruit feeder.
Miscellaneous
- During hot weeks, do gardening chores in the before noon and after 7 p.m. to avoid heat and stress to the plants and to yourself.
- Bring cut flowers indoors for large and small bouquets throughout the house. Be sure to shake off bugs before bringing flowers indoors. Hang some up to dry for use in fall and winter arrangements.
- Take photos of your garden, which should be in full bloom now. This will help you next fall and winter, when you start planning for a new season. It also gives you something pretty to look at during those cold, dreary winter days.
- Keep rose petals and herbs, such as lavender, to dry for a homemade potpourri.
- Cut long stems of zinnias, sunflowers, coneflower, giant marigolds and others and hang them upside down to dry indoors. Use these later for fall and winter arrangements and decorations. They can also be added to potpourri.
- Consider new statuary for the garden. It'll be going on sale soon.
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- In high foot-traffic areas, install a permanent pathway using bricks, stepping stones, blocks or pea gravel held in place by a border.
- To hold in mulch and create a neat appearance, install garden edging. Make it as fancy or as simple as you like. Many kinds are available and some require almost no sweat equity.
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