JULY CAN BE A CHALLENGING MONTH FOR GARDENERS
One main reason for July being a challenging month is the weather. July can be one of the hottest and driest months of the year. Realizing this possibility, be prepared to give your plants and gardens a little extra attention and TLC.
Before I get into the list of gardening tasks and thoughts for July, I want to recap June. Yes, we have had some rainfall. But certainly not enough to put an end to our drought. On June 20, our Governor Spanberger announced that Virginia is in a severe drought. It has been since the 1940’s that we have been this dry. She urged residents to be mindful of water use and to expect water restrictions to be imminent. We have had a couple of rainstorms this last week of June, which seems to have quieted down the water restriction conversation. Let’s hope the timely rain continues in July.
As of the end of June our soil temperature is 81 DEGREES. Actually, this soil temperature is normal for this time of year. I mention this soil temperature because our soil can heat up and dry out very quickly in the summer. So, my first July thought to share with you is about WATERING.
- Stay on top of watering. With this heat, plants will tend to dry out much faster now than they did just a month ago. Let’s all apply smart water – wise habits. Hand watering is ideal. Try to water everything early in the month in order to reduce losing moisture to evaporation. You want to water slowly and deeply.
- POWDERY MILDEW – We have had quite a few customers bring in leaf samples of powdery mildew. It is a common fungus this time of year, especially with our humid weather. Be sure to check your plants that may have a look of grey on the leaves. You can treat the plants with a fungicide that list powdery mildew on its label.
- JAPANESE BEETLES – Japanese Beetles are out and about now. These beetles can be found on roses, crape myrtles, Japanese maples and other plants. Inspect your plants for damage. These beetles don’t bite us so you can pick them off and bag them up. The more you do this then the less egg laying by the female beetle. As a control you can also use a Japanese Beetle bag to capture them.
- July is a good month to give your flowering annuals a trimming and a feeding.
- SOIL TEST – Lawn season is approaching fast. I suggest getting a complete soil analysis done now so that you have time to correct any issues before September.
- With this drought that we are experiencing here in July don’t be alarmed with trees dropping leaves. Trees may lose up to 10% of their leaves during very hot and dry conditions. It’s natural. Dropping leaves will help reduce water loss from the trees by transpiration.
HAPPY JULY!!! YES, YOU CAN STILL BE PLANTING A LITTLE HAPPINESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!