It’s hot out, and in the midst of planning your Fourth of July barbecue and prepping the pool for months of heavy usage, do not forget that your plants are also waiting for a cool summer drink. Water, prune, feed and plant; before you know it fall will probably be here. And while you are doing that, enjoy your summer garden too, enjoying your edible bounty when keeping an eye out for any signs of plant stress.
From New England to the American Southwest, our regional garden guides take out the guesswork out of summer lawn maintenance so you are able to spend more time savoring that mojito. Here’s what to do in your garden this July, by U.S. area.
Locate your July garden checklist:
California | Central Plains | Great Lakes | Mid-Atlantic | Northeast
Pacific Northwest | Rocky Mountains | Southeast | Southwest | Texas
Lenkin Design Inc: Garden and Landscape Design
Northwest. “As climbed blossoms fade along with the petals turn brown, so it’s important to deadhead, or cut off the old blossoms,” writes landscape designer Genevieve Schmidt.
“By pruning off those old blossoms, you steer the increased to keep on blooming throughout the summer. Only cut off the spent flower or flower cluster right above a leaf with five leaflets. It’s best to decide on an outward-facing leaf as the rose will grow a new shoot from the dormant marijuana hidden at the base of the leaf.”
Get her Northwest July checklist | More increased pruning hints
California. “Along with gardenias, you will find different ways to perfume a summer garden. More or less all of them are less demanding,” writes garden editor Bill Marken.
“Most versatile and easiest to grow of all of the scent manufacturers is that the old dependable star jasmine, revealed here, one of California’s most widely used evergreen plants for centuries. Grow it as a blossom, as a ground cover, in a pot — where you want all-year good summer and looks perfume.”
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Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting
Southwest. “Plant sunflowers throughout the summer for beauty and temporary shade,” says Arizona horticulturalist Noelle Johnson. “Sunflowers are simple to grow from seed throughout the summer. They are a great way to give shade for edibles like tomato and pineapple plants”
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Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Rocky Mountains. “Hot, dry, windy weather could be tough on crops, but it’s essential to be water wise in the arid West,” writes Colorado landscape designer Jocelyn Chilvers. “Adjust your irrigation system as necessary to be certain plants are getting enough water, but not wasting water. The key is to target water in the plant’s root zone instead of broadcast watering”
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Milieu Design
Texas. “Water less often but more deeply to encourage deep grass roots; they will come in handy during our typically dry summers,” writes Texas landscape designer Jenny Peterson.
“Always follow any water constraints or watering instructions for your region, but think about adding a rain sensor to your automatic irrigation system. It will automatically switch off your system if you have had rain so that your yard isn’t overwatered.”
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Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens
Central Plains. “Let us go on a miniature flower tour of what might be flowering at a Central Plains native plant garden,” writes Nebraska garden consultant Benjamin Vogt. “This can be crazy quinine (Parthenium integrifolium, zones 4 to 8), a 3-foot by 3-foot perennial with durable whitened mini-cauliflower blooms. I use it because it’s just so darn particular — have you seen flowers in this way? Wild quinine grows in warm to moderate soils of any kind in sunlight.”
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Barbara Pintozzi
Great Lakes. “With the highest temperatures of the year coming, it’s more important than ever to keep containers well watered,” writes Illinois garden trainer Barbara Pintozzi. “On the hottest days, they may need to be watered more than once a day. Remember, smaller containers and hanging baskets dry out faster than big containers”
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Paintbox Garden
Northeast. “My vegetable garden is full of flowers, because I want some colour accenting all of the basil, tomatoes and lettuce, along with the blossoms will help draw pollinators and butterflies, too,” writes Vermont landscape consultant Charlotte Albers.
“Calendula is easily grown from seed and self-sows easily — this can be semidouble C. ‘Flashback’ (Calendula officianalis) from Renee’s Garden. It’s a really pretty shade of orange. I utilize the petals to garnish salads and cut on the blossoms for festive bouquets, adding white shasta daisies and zinnias.”
Ger her Northeast July checklist
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC
Mid-Atlantic. “Whether you are snipping coneflowers for arrangements, amassing lavender for bath salts or finishing up the basil, July is a month of wealth,” writes garden author Amy Renea. “Keep deadheading and snipping leafy herbs for more production into collapse, and keep thug weeds like bindweed out of the garden. ”
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Gardening with Confidence®
Southeast. “Cut back summer annuals so they don’t get leggy,” indicates North Carolina garden author Helen Yoest. “A good time to do this is right before going on holiday; in this manner, you will be gone as the crops get a fresh start. Petunias benefit from this kind of summer pinch. This cutback from the ends of the stalks promotes branching, leading to a bushier plant.”
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More: See more regional gardening manuals