Gardening Tips for August 2023

---

• Annuals- Pentas lanceolata, New Guinea Impatiens, Cosmos, Nasturtiums.
• Perennials- Felicia amelloides, Kniphofia uvaria, Rudbeckia, Dahlias, Hanging Begonias.
• Seeds - Arugula, Sunflower, Lettuce, Carrot, Beet.
• Bulbs - Soon it will be time to start buying fall planted, spring blooming bulbs. If you are looking for specialty Alliums and Daffodils check out BrentandBecky'sbulbs online. When shopping in person, look for heavy bulbs for their size that are blemish free. Keep bulbs in a cool/dry place until it's time to plant in your area.
• Compost to Ready Veggie Garden Soil for Fall Planting. Yellow Sticky Traps, Stakes.

• Sunflowers– Can still be planted by seed until the end of August here in Sonoma County. Planted at the end of the month means Sunflowers in October or sooner!
• Vegetable Seeds and Starts – Mark calendars for Labor Day (September 4th) as a soft target to plant many winter veggie starts (small plants) before the soil starts to turn cold and the days shorten. Seeds of Lettuce, Arugula, Parsley, Carrot, Beet and other cool weather plants can be sown starting late in August.  
• Pruning- Get the garden ready for a great fall show by pruning back many perennial plants this month. You can even prune most repeat bloomer roses back so you have blooms for Thanksgiving. To see how to shear plants such as Erigeron, Oregano, and Lobelia Watch The Gardening Tutor video: Shearing Plants to encourage flower or foliage. Continue to deadhead annuals and some perennials, such as Cosmos, Marigolds, Zinnias, Gaillardia, Gazania, Coreopsis to keep them blooming all the way through fall. Fuchsias too will keep blooming well when spent flowers are removed promptly. Shrubs, such as Citrus can still be shaped until the end of August. This gives the plant time, here in Zone 9, to harden off any new growth that pruning stimulates before the frost season begins here in Sonoma County at the end of October. Bearded Iris can be divided at this time of year. If Iris have stopped blooming as well as prior years, it's time to divide the clumps. When you're ready to learn how to do pruning or any other gardening task, contact Mary for and appointment. If you missed the window to prune 
• Pest Management - - By mid summer many plants (shrubs especially) may be quite dusty from hot weather and road dust. You may notice lots of tiny webbing inside the foliage. This is evidence of spider mites. Spider mites like hot, dry, and dusty environments. In the morning, rinse the whole shrub off with a strong spray of water from the hose to get rid of the webbing. Make sure to blast under the leaves too. You may need to repeat this every few days before you see the mite population decline. Continue to bait for or hand-pick snails, slugs and earwigs. Cucumber beetles (little green insects with black spots that look like lady beetles) are an awful garden pest! Squish them as soon as you see them. Cucumber beetles are super hard to control with spraying organic approved sprays. Lures attached to yellow sticky traps work pretty well. Yellow sticky traps without the lures usually do not attract this pest. Mosquitoes- Continue to dump out standing water from the yard and garden. Mosquitoes breed wherever they find standing water. Mosquito bites can transmit diseases to horses, cats, dogs, and people. Weeds are one of the worst pests in the garden. Stay ahead of removing weeds before they go to seed. Watch The Gardening Tutor Video: Weeds-How They Grow and How to Manage Them.
• Fertilizing - Citrus appreciate regular, monthly fertilizing during the warm months. If a citrus plant has plenty of nice green leaves but not many blooms, use a Bloom Fertilizer (Mary uses Maxsea Bloom). If the citrus leaves look unhealthy and/or yellowing, use an All Purpose Fertilizer (Mary uses Maxsea All Purpose). Before applying the liquid fertilizer make certain the yellowing leaves are not from too much water in the rootzone. When applying fertilizer apply to moist soil, not dry soil as the plant could burn from fertilizing into a dry rootzone. See how to apply liquid fertilizer-Watch The Gardening Tutor Video: Two Quick Ways to Apply Liquid Fertilizer. Continue to fertilize container plants throughout summer.  

Follow The Gardening Tutor on Instagram, Vimeo, Pinterest and Facebook. The Gardening Tutor How-To Videos are still on YouTube but you can watch our Gardening Videos Ad-Free on our Vimeo Channel. Thanks so much! 

Subscribe  to The Gardening Tutor's Newsletter on our homepage so you'll know when the tips post. It's FREE! Plus, You'll Get Extra Tips for Subscribers Only.