 |
Keep Your Late Summer Garden Tip-Top |
| [ comment ] | [ email article ] | [ print article ] | [ rss feed ] |
Every garden season has a list of “to dos” – some more fun than others. But to keep your garden and yard in tip-top condition, The Morton Arboretum Plant Clinic recommends the following activities – for a full listing and additional information for garden care by season, click here.
1. Water trees and shrubs deeply if natural rainfall is less than one inch per week. Watering the soil and not the foliage reduces leaf spot diseases.
2. Replenish mulch under trees and shrubs to conserve moisture, reduce weeds, and control temperature fluctuations in soil.
3. Monitor all plants regularly for pest and disease problems.
4. Pull weeds before they go to seed. After a rain, roots will pull out more easily and completely.
5. Continue to monitor container plants (especially those in clay pots) daily for watering needs.
6. If you pinched back your garden mums and asters (about once a month from May through mid-July), they should be rewarding you now with bushier growth.
7. Continue to fill birdbath regularly.
8. Divide and replant iris. Discard any plant showing signs of insect or disease. Iris should be divided every three to five years.
9. Mid-August through Mid-September is an ideal time to establish a new lawn or seed in bare spots.
10. Plant peonies through October.
11. Stop fertilizing woody plants. New growth will not have time to harden off before winter.
12. Continue regular weeding and monitor for insect and disease problems.
13. Start cuttings of herbs to growing in a sunny windowsill during the winter.
14. Order spring flowering bulbs to plant this fall.
15. Remember to photograph gardens for winter planning!
The Morton Arboretum website is a treasure trove of additional information. The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Health Care (PHC) reports are posted bi-weekly during April and August and weekly from May through July. Each report summarizes current tree disease and insect sightings for northeastern Illinois. The reports also include images, growing degree days and phenological indicators. Periodic feature articles offer more detailed perspectives on a range of PHC topics.
Visit or call the Plant Clinic at 630-719-2424
RIGHT NOW: Spectacular summer-flowering shrubs and perennials are blooming at the Arboretum in the Ground Cover Garden, the Fragrance Garden, along Joy Path and in the Four Seasons Garden at the Thornhill Education Center. Plan a visit soon.
| SHARE ON... |  digg |
 facebook |
 reddit |
 del.icio.us |
