August Chores part 2

The dog days of summer are ever upon us. Though we may be tempted to retreat to the easy chair and air conditioning, duty calls! Last week we looked at some of the challenges faced by the serious gardener during this month of August. Following are some more of these.

Plant fall-blooming bulbs such as spider lilies and surprise lilies now. Plant spring-blooming rhizomes such as bearded iris and divide those that are overgrown. When dividing a clump of iris, lift the entire clump and remove the healthy rhizomes by breaking or cutting them with a sharp knife. Throw away any that are shriveled and inferior. Trim the leaves back to two or three inches and then replant about a foot apart. Bury the rhizomes so that they are just below the surface of the soil. Water in and continue watering as the plant puts down new roots.

Mulching your annuals is a good idea now since, after all, there are still several weeks left in the summer growing season. Mulches conserve moisture by preventing the evaporation of soil moisture. About three inches (maximum four inches) of pine straw, pine bark nuggets, or shredded wood chips placed about three inches away from the base of a tree or shrub is ideal for maintaining even soil moisture even under the driest of conditions. Finer textured materials hold moisture better than coarser materials. Avoid large pine nuggets, rock, gravel, and marble.

Continue fertilizing annuals in order to get the maximum number of flowers until frost. If you use a granular material such as 10-10-10 or 8-8-8 or something similar, apply about every four weeks-more often under rainy conditions. Spread as evenly as possible by hand or with a hand-held whirly bird type spreader. Be sure to water generously afterwards if possible to carry the nutrients down to the plant roots and wash the granules off the foliage to prevent leaf burn. If you use a water soluble fertilizer such as Peter’s, Miracle-Gro, Hyponex, etc. apply every couple of weeks at the recommended rate. Consider purchasing a siphon mixer, an inexpensive fertilizer injector which attaches to the garden hose and evenly distributes the mixed solution of fertilizer and water.

Cut back faded but otherwise healthy annuals by half to two-thirds their size now and fertilize. Watch for the second season of blooms that will appear in a few weeks.

There may still be time (but barely) to plant a crop of fall bush beans from seeds and tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash from transplants. Harvest squash, okra, and cucumbers on a timely basis. If one fruit gets too large, the plant will probably stop producing altogether.

Houseplants need attention these days too. Many houseplants flower best when they are slightly pot bound, somewhat too large for their container. The main reason some plants never bloom is because of their exposure to low light. For most plants, flower formation requires high energy from light, which is sometimes difficult or impossible to achieve indoors. Placing them near a window will help alleviate this problem.

If your lawn is thinning due to shade, you might try replacing it with a ground cover such as mondo grass, liriope, ajuga, or pachysandra. If you don’t like these, consider mulching the area with pine straw or wood chips.

Your lawn needs one deep soaking of water per week, not a little here and there such as every day or every other day. Such intermittent watering practices foster shallow root growth, overwatering, wastefulness, and even diseases. Drought stress, on the other hand, can contribute to problems such as dollar spot disease.

Fertilize bermuda, zoysia, and St. Augustine grasses one last time now, depending on when you last fertilized. Wait until spring to fertilize centipede lawns.

Perennials will continue to bloom well into the fall if you keep them deadheaded. Pinch off the faded blossoms so that the plant directs its energy into making more flowers rather than seeds.

Tim Lewis is a Georgia Green Industry Association Certified Plant Professional, gardening writer, former Perry High School horticulture instructor, and former horticulturalist at Henderson Village and Houston Springs. He and his wife, Susan, own and operate Lewis Farms Nursery located on Hwy 26 two miles east of Elko, where he was born and raised. He can be reached at (478)954-1507,

timlewis1@windstream.net, and at LewisFarmsNursery.com.

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