Growings On: August tips for the yard

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, August 2, 2023

With the sun beating down every day, many only mow the grass when absolutely necessary to stay cool. There are lots of other landscape and garden jobs that should be taken care of. Start with these to help your home look its best, no matter how hot it is.

Order peony now for planting in September. Plant about a month before the average first frost, which is usually mid-October for our area. Planting should be completed before the first killing frost occurs.

Go ahead and start root cuttings of woody shrubs and evergreens, such as azaleas, holly and hydrangea.

With a little watering and mulching, most fibrous-rooted perennials can be moved during any season but fall is best. Just move them with some of their own soil and don’t let them wilt. Fleshy-rooted and tap-rooted perennials, however, are best moved when dormant.

During hot, dry days, don’t till your flower beds. Loosening the soil under these conditions increases loss of soil water and can damage surface roots. Plants often look much worse after cultivation than before.

The best time to buy mums is in late summer as soon as they become available. For a longer blooming period, choose plants that are just coming into bud instead of those already in full bloom. If you grow your own mums and you want a showy fall bloom, pinch off the buds now; they will re-bud in time for fall.

Take cuttings of favorite annuals or sow seeds in pots for winter flowering indoors. The following bedding plants root easily: coleus, geraniums, impatiens, wax begonias and fuchsia. Plant calendula, ageratum, marigold, stock, impatiens and snapdragon from seed.

Petunias vary their growth habits according to temperature and day length. At temperatures of 62 degrees Fahrenheit and below, petunias will be branched, compact and multiflowered. From 63 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, day length affects growth habit. If plants receive less than 12 hours of sunlight at these temperatures, petunias will be single-stemmed and have only a single flower; with more sunlight, petunias branch and increase flowering. At over 75 degrees Fahrenheit, day length has no effect, and plants will always be tall, leggy and bear few flowers.

Don’t let your hybrid, annual flowers go to seed. This weakens the plants and decreases bloom. In addition, resulting seedlings usually will be very different from the parent plant and often of poorer quality.

Take 6- to 9-inch-long cuttings of roses for rooting, using a sharp knife. Remove all but the top two or three leaves. Insert the cutting 4 to 6 inches deep in well-prepared soil in bright light. Firm, water well and cover with an inverted glass jar to conserve moisture. Be sure the cutting does not receive direct sun or it might overheat.

It may not feel like it now but summer is ending and work in your yard can go full steam ahead.

If you have any questions, feel free to call Brenda Jackson at Murray County Extension at (706) 695-3031 or email bljack@uga.edu.