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Updated August 2nd, 2007
By Robin Corwin - LCF Outlook
Summer Maintenance
If you have the time and
energy, here are some things to
consider accomplishing in your
garden during August:
Plant: Palms, which are dormant
in summer, can be moved
and planted now. You can also
put in new irises and fall blooming
bulbs. Consider autumn crocus
(colchicum), spider lily
(lycoris) and nerine. If you’re
very careful, you can slip in
asters and mums to enhance
your autumn garden. Do this
after 4 p.m. to give them a cool
night to settle in and try to shade
them for a few days. Start seeds
of cool season vegetables,
choice biennials and perennials.
Prune: Thin coral trees
before the Santa Anas arrive.
Yank off tree whips at the base
or cut them flush with the trunk.
Trim pelargonium, and use the
cuttings to make new plants.
Harvest herbs for summer barbecues
and recipes. Collect mint
for mojitos and mint lemonade.
Make herbal butters, marinades
and teas. Pinch garden mums
back, and then leave them to set
flower buds for fall.
Dig and Divide:
Overcrowded bearded irises can
be lifted from now until mid-
September. Don’t divide Pacific
Coast natives until October. Cut
the foliage of spuria irises, but
don’t disturb them until next
month.
Water: Monitor water application
carefully. Containers may
need twice daily watering on
scorching days. Avoid letting
camellias and azaleas dry out
because inconsistent irrigation
contributes to bud drop. Dirty
plants don’t photosynthesize well
and get stressed. Hose down your
garden on hot afternoons to
increase humidity, cool plants and
remove dust and insects. Start
flushing accumulated salts from
container plants and garden areas
by selecting one area or container
and flooding it. Do one plant or
area every few days until everything
has been treated.
Fertilize: It’s too hot to fertilize
the entire garden, but if it’s
around 80 degrees or less, vegetables
will appreciate some diluted
fish or kelp. Apply cottonseed
meal to camellias and water it in
well; don’t dig it in. Camellias
resent having the soil around their
shallow root systems cultivated.
Pest Control: Spraying often
with plain water helps control spider
mites. Tomato hornworms
have to be handpicked.
Grasshoppers join the party this
month. Cut them in two with your
clippers.
Miscellaneous: Spend sweltering
afternoons poring over horticultural
catalogs and dreaming up
next year’s garden. Read old gardening
books for sage advice from
our ancestral experts. Or, just
enjoy a well-deserved break from
heavy garden duties.
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