Your August Garden
With longer days and increased heat, August is the time of year when your garden is stressed the most. Remember three important watering tips: Water in the morning. Water the roots, not the leaves. Watering deeply on occasion is better than watering shallow often. Now is a good time to take a serious look at your garden to determine any changes that you may want to make during cooler months.
Color: Assess your annual and perennial color. If annuals look spent, it’s best just to dig them up and discard them. Perennials not looking their best can be cut back a couple of inches and should rejuvenate quickly.
Fruits and Vegetables: Trim suckers off fruit trees and vines. Provide supplemental water to shallow-root trees such as citrus and avocado. Watch for evidence of thrips.
Lawn: Continue to fertilize your lawn monthly through October. Raise the blade on your lawnmower to 2 or 2 1/2 inches to help keep moisture in the ground. Mow weekly to keep weeds at bay.
Flowers: Deadhead roses and feed them after the bloom cycle. Keep deadheading all flowers to prolong the bloom period. Trim hanging basket plants that look unruly. Pinch back impatiens that are starting to stretch.
Container plants: Move plants in pots that seem to be in a constant state of wilt into a shadier spot for the next couple of months.
Watering: Every month, you should test run your irrigation system to ensure that all lines are clear and emitters are working efficiently. Make sure that you establish a watering schedule for plants in pots that are not part of the irrigation system.
Pests: Heat can bring on attacks from garden pests in all forms. Watch for rust, spider mites, caterpillars, thrips, scale, grubs and other pests. Halt the problem before it gets out of control.
Prepare for fire season: Remove dead branches and leaves from trees and shrubs. Cut tall grasses and weeds to stubble. Remove dead leaves from gutters and around the base of structures.
Alissa Adams-Simmons
Briggs Tree Company
1111 Poinsettia Avenue
Vista, CA 92081
