Have a great summer and remember, it’s important to water and fertilize the gardener, too! Stay hydrated, my friends!

Check family members and pets for ticks after being outside, especially when in tall grass or wooded areas. If necessary, send ticks to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for testing.   

Despite good cultural practices, pests and diseases at times may appear. Chemical control should be used only after all other methods have failed. For pesticide information please call UConn Home and Garden Education Center weekdays, in Connecticut call toll free 877-486-6271. Out of state call 860-486-6271

Following info provided by UConn College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resource’s Home and Garden Education Center.

July

Annuals & Perennials

• Cut back mums, tall asters, Montauk daisies and helianthus by about one-quarter for bushy, more floriferous plants.
• If your cool season annuals have died off, pull them out and add them to your compost pile. Sometimes a severe shearing, water and fertilizer will bring them back to life. Often they are best replaced with heat tolerant annuals.
• Water early in the morning to reduce the loss of water to evaporation during the hottest days.
• Container and hanging plants may need additional water later in the day if hot and windy conditions prevail. Check plants again at day’s end to see if any additional water is necessary.
• Mulch garden beds to help conserve water.  
• Hummingbirds are attracted to red salvia, nasturtiums, coral bells and bee balm.

In the Vegetable Garden

• Tomato hornworms are large green caterpillars that feed on the leaves of tomatoes and related plants. Hand-pick or control with Bacillus thuringiensis. Do not remove caterpillars that are covered in white pupae as they have been parasitized by beneficial wasps.
• Pinching back herbs to stop flowering will keep the best flavor in the leaves and encourage branching. Herbs can be air dried, dried quickly in the microwave, or frozen.
• Inspect garden plants regularly for insect and disease problems. Sanitation practices, insecticidal soaps, and insect traps are alternatives to pesticides.
• Cucumbers are heavy drinkers and feeders. Keep the soil evenly moist during hot spells to avoid bitter fruit and side-dress plants with 1/4 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer or the equivalent in mid-July..
• Plant cool-season crops such as broccoli, spinach, kale, lettuce, and chard where they will be shaded from the sun.
• Mulch garden beds to help conserve water.
• Check brassicas for cabbageworm, diamond-back moth caterpillars, cross-striped caterpillars, and cabbage loopers. Use row covers or Bacillus thuringiensis to control them.

Insects

• Check brassicas for cabbageworm, diamond-back moth caterpillars, cross-striped caterpillars, and cabbage loopers. Use row covers or Bacillus thuringiensis to control them.
• Tomato hornworms are large green caterpillars that feed on the leaves of tomatoes and related plants. Hand-pick or control with Bacillus thuringiensis. Do not remove caterpillars that are covered in white pupae as they have been parasitized by beneficial wasps.
• Inspect garden plants regularly for insect and disease problems. Sanitation practices, insecticidal soaps, and insect traps are alternatives to pesticides.
• Pick up, bag, and trash (do not compost) any dropped apples that show signs of apple maggot.
• Apply grub control no later than July 15th so that it is systemically in place in grass roots when the grubs hatch in early August if grubs were a problem last year.
• Check roses, Mugo pine, hibiscus, and dogwood for sawfly larvae. Insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, and pyrethrins are among the least toxic options recommended for control.
• Check family members and pets for ticks after being outside, especially when in tall grass or wooded areas. If necessary send ticks to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for testing.
• Control mosquitoes by eliminating all sources of stagnant water.

Landscapes and Lawns

Fruits

• Put netting on fruit trees and bushes a few weeks before the fruit begins to ripen to protect it from birds and squirrels.
• Pick up, bag, and trash (do not compost) any dropped apples that show signs of apple maggot.

Lawns

• If grubs were a problem in previous years, apply grub control no later than July 15th so that it is systemically in place in grass roots when the grubs hatch in early August.
• Change directions when mowing your lawn. Travel north to south on one mowing and east to west on the next.
• Water early in the morning to reduce the loss of water to evaporation during the hottest days.
• Try shade tolerant ground covers in areas where lack of sunlight limits grass growth.
• Raise your mowing height to 3 inches during hot weather and mulch clippings if possible.

Trees and Shrubs

• Summer blooming shrubs should be pruned for shape after they have finished flowering.
• Dead or diseased branches of shrubs can be removed at any time.
• Do not prune azaleas and rhododendrons after mid-July as they will begin setting their buds for next year’s blooms.
• Fertilize roses for the last time in mid-July.
• Properly placed shade trees will reduce air conditioning costs.
• Check roses, Mugo pine, hibiscus, and dogwood for sawfly larvae. Insecticidal soap  and Horticultural oil are among the least toxic products recommended for control.

Yard Accessories + Misc.

• Hose down or power wash Spongy moth caterpillar frass (droppings) that accumulates on furniture cushions, decks, and driveways.
• Control mosquitoes by eliminating all sources of stagnant water. Clean bird baths and pet’s outdoor dishes often.
• Leaky garden hoses and fittings can waste water. Check hoses while they are under full pressure and make repairs.

August

Annuals & Perennials

• August is the month to order peony roots for September planting. Peonies should be in the ground about a month before the average first frost date.
• Colorful plastic golf tees can be stuck in the ground to mark the location of dormant plants such as spring flowering bulbs or perennials.
• Water plants deeply once or twice a week depending on the heat and humidity.
• Check the water needs of hanging baskets once or twice daily. Wind and sun dry them out quicker than other containers.
• Fertilize container plantings and hanging baskets if they look yellow with a ½ strength dose of a balanced liquid fertilizer.
• Continue to deadhead annuals and perennials to encourage continuous bloom.
• Scout for C-shaped notches on the edges of the leaves of your perennials such as dahlias, roses, basil or coleus that are caused by Asiatic beetle feeding.
• Fertilize perennials with a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 product to encourage continued blooming.

In the Vegetable Garden

• Pick summer squash and zucchini every day or two to keep the plants producing.
• Keep an eye out for insect, slug, and snail damage throughout the garden. Use the controls in our fact sheet Snails and Slugs.
• Sketch out where you planted various vegetables in your garden so that next spring when you plant, you can rotate your crops to help prevent disease.
• Remove old plants that have stopped producing to eliminate a shelter for insects and disease organisms. Replant sites with chard, quick maturing beans or cucumbers, leafy greens etc.
• The best time to gather herbs and flowers for drying and preserving is during the midmorning hours, just after the dew has dried but before the sun causes them to wilt. Tie herbs in clusters with the stems attached and hang upside down to dry or dry in the microwave.
• Even though tomatoes continue to ripen after picking, fruits develop greatest flavor when allowed to ripen on plants. The exception is cherry tomatoes since many varieties are prone to splitting. Pick any almost ripe ones before a heavy rain.
• Water plants deeply once or twice a week depending on the heat and humidity.
• Scout for Late Blight on tomato and potato plants. Remove and destroy infected plants.

Education & Events

• The Big Bug Hunt is an international research project to track when and how garden bugs spread. The Big Bug Hunt has already identified patterns in the way some major pests spread. Additional reports will improve accuracy and speed development of the pest-alert system.
• Sign up for gardening classes, workshops, or seminars offered by many garden centers, your town recreation office, or through the UConn Master Gardener Program.

Insects

• Scout for C-shaped notches on the edges of the leaves of your perennials such as dahlias, roses, basil or coleus that are caused by Asiatic garden beetle feeding.
• Keep an eye out for insect, slug, and snail damage throughout the garden use the controls in our fact sheet Snails and Slugs.
• Pick up, bag, and trash (do not compost) any dropped apples that show signs of apple maggot.
• Control mosquitoes by eliminating all sources of stagnant water. Clean bird baths and pet’s outdoor dishes often.
• Hose down or power wash spongy moth caterpillar frass (droppings) stains on furniture cushions, decks, and driveways.

Landscapes and Lawns

Fruits

• Renovate strawberry beds by mowing to a height of 1 ½ inches, thinning plants and side-dressing with a balanced fertilizer.pdf.
• Pick up, bag, and trash (do not compost) any dropped apples that show signs of apple maggot. 
• To reduce the number of pests on your fruit trees for the coming year practice good sanitation by removing and destroying all fallen fruit. Do not compost it.
• Think about what fruits trees you might like to add to your yard this fall. Some suggestions for native plants may be found at Trees and Shrubs: Suggested Native Species for Pollinators.

Lawns

• Do not add weeds with mature seed heads to the compost pile. Many weed seeds can remain viable and germinate next year when the compost is used.
• Reseeding the lawn in late August gives the new grass two growing periods (fall and spring) before the heat of summer. Be sure to keep the seed moist until germination.

Trees and Shrubs

• Stop pruning evergreen trees and shrubs to avoid promoting new growth that may not harden off before first frost.
• Fruiting plants such as winterberry, holly, and firethorn need regular watering during dry spells to ensure that berries mature and don’t drop off.
• Don’t forget that trees and shrubs require water during extended dry periods.

Yard Accessories and Misc.

• Control mosquitoes by eliminating all sources of stagnant water. Clean bird baths and pet’s outdoor dishes often.
• Leaky garden hoses and fittings can waste water. Check hoses while they are under full pressure and make repairs.