• Established plantings should be watered regularly around 2-3 times a week. If there is a drought than water 3 times a week.  Water the plant material until the water has a continuous runoff to allow for a good soaking.
• Access the number of trees in your yard. The USDA says, you can create a natural air conditioner by determining the net cooling effect of your trees in your yard, and you can save the planet too! Cool!
• Prune rose hips to stimulate more flowering, if they are left on the flowering will decrease.
• Summer pruning can be done so long as the plant material has flowered; if the plants are pruned before they flower there will be fewer blooms
• Installing Rain Barrels can help save the environment and help ease watering costs. Use rain barrels to water your garden during these hot summer months. Click here to see the selection at our Newbury location.
• Do not prune White Birch till Late September. By waiting you will prevent birch from being attacked by the Bronze Birch Borer since it goes after weakened Birch trees.
• Maintain even watering patterns around carrots. Alternating dry and wet conditions will split and crack your carrots. Water cucumbers and tomatoes consistently to prevent cucumbers from becoming bitter in taste. As onion and potato leaves begin to die reduce the amount of water applied on them. This helps harden onions and potatoes for harvest time.
• Oil of Lemon is a great natural alternative to using DEET which is contained in many insect repellents.

Preventative:

• Redheaded pine sawfly will begin appearing later this month and the beginning of August. Start looking for this insect now.

Active:

• Lacebugs are active now.  Hosts include azaleas, andromeda, rhododendron, and others.  The eggs are on the undersides of leaves or in the shoots. Due to the fact that they feed on the underside of the leaves, they can be controlled with Bonide’s All Seasons Oil or Monterey Garden Insect Control when applied to the entire plant.
• Scale insects are active now and have a wide range of hosts from hemlocks to peaches and pines to yews. Systemic products like Ortho’s Systemic Insect Killer can be applied to the soil for control. Also contact sprays like oil sprays like Bonide’s All Seasons Oil or Neem oil based products like Bonide’s Bon-Neem work well to help control this insect.
• Warm season mites (Spider Mites) are active now and can be controlled by using Bonide’s All Seasons Oil or the organic product Bonide’s Mite-X to suppress their damage.
• Japanese Beetles are emerging and their numbers will increase well into August.  This pest has a wide host range and can defoliate plant material quickly if not treated. Use Japanese Beetle Spray by Bonide to help control the insects and their damage. Taxus Mealybug attacks most yews are active and feeding now. They can be mistaken as a scale at first glance, but they are different. These insects can be treated with Bonide’s All Seasons Oil spray
• Hemlock wooly adelgid is currently dormant in the hot weather but can still be treated with Bonide’s All Seasons Oil.

• Rose black spot occurs as dark brown to black, rounded spots on leaves and canes.  Throughout the growing season repeated black spots infect the new foliage and canes during wet periods.  Eventually the leaves turn yellow and drop prematurely from the rose. Grow roses in an area where there is good air circulation and sunlight for rapid leaf drying.  Water the soil around the rose and try not to get the leaves wet or water early in the day so the leaves can dry quickly. Fungicides like Bonide’s Captan will help minimize the damage.
• Signs of powdery mildew should be present this month.  Be advised, powdery mildew does not permanently injure the plants and the disease is more aesthetically displeasing than damaging.  Bonide’s Infuse should assist in the reduction of the disease but will not remedy the problem completely.
• Pear rust appearing as bright orange spots on the surface of leaves is active and can be treated with Bonide’s Infuse if caught early enough.

• Inspect your lilies for scarlet lily beetle which has a bright scarlet body and black legs. The larvae resemble slugs with swollen orange, brown, yellowish or even greenish bodies and black heads If you see the larvae you can treat with one of the following, Safer’s Bio-Neem, Bonide’s Bon-Neem or Organica’s K-Neem (toxic to bees, however if applied correctly you can avoid bee injury). The neem oil based products kill larvae and repel the adults and are most effective when applied early in the insect life cycle.
• Aphids have been active this month and can be treated with a spinosad product like Monterey Garden Insect Spray or Neem oil based products, which should be applied as needed due to the possibility of reinfestation.
• Using 2-3 inches of Mulch around borders of gardens and landscapes will help suppress weed growth and will also help with water retention during the summer months.
• Deadhead your container plants to keep flowers looking great during these summer months.  Fertilize every week ½ to 2 weeks or use Osmocote or another slow release fertilizer.
• Apply Schultz’s Bloom Plus to stimulate an increase in flower production.
• Don’t forget to install tomato cages to help support the tomatoes from falling over.
• Monitor for Squash Vine Borer.
• Plant buckwheat, soybean, or sudan grass as cover crops in open areas in your garden. This prevents soil erosion, conserves soil nutrients, and suppresses weeds by shading soil which reduces weed seed germination.
• Mulch with newspaper and/or straw to retain moisture for your vegetables.
• Water strawberries once a week if the weather is dry to increase yields for next year.
• Leave the central head of broccoli plants after you have harvested them. Broccoli will continue to produce smaller side shoots all season long.
• Help bees and improve crop yields in poor performing squash beds by hand pollinating with a clean, old paintbrush to transfer the pollen from male to female flowers.

• Apply a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen like Greenview Greenpower 30-4-4  once a year or Espoma Organic Lawn Food twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall to help create a nice green lush lawn.
• Bayer’s Grub Control is a product that can be applied once a year for continuous control of grubs.
• Organic St. Gabriel Milky Spore can also be applied for grub control, though it takes a few years and multiple applications to be the most effective.
• Bayer Powerforce is a broad range insect control product that can be applied now and is a great substitute for Diazinon.
• Use Drought Defense by Soil Logic to help minimize moisture loss during a time of hot dry spells.
• Use Soil Logic’s Re-Green to help get color back on the grass in those spots in the lawn that your dog continuously goes to.

• Continue feeding the fish using Tetra PondCare Floating Pond Sticks with high protein formulated for water temps above 65 degrees during a time of rapid growth and high activity.
• Add some hyacinths and water lettuce to aid in the reduction of algae growth. 
• Hardy marginals and tropical marginals should be placed in the pond carefully and the water level should be just over the lip of the pot, if the plant is in deeper water the plant could rot and would not be beneficial to the pond.
• Any new fish you add to your pond should not be left in the bag.  They can be put right in the pond, the reason you would float the bag is for adjusting the fish to the ponds water temperature if it is drastically different.
• Accent lighting around the pond can be aesthetically pleasing during summer time. Outings and barbeques and can be easily installed and some products are solar powered.
• Throw some Mosquito Dunks where stagnant water is to prevent mosquitoes from breeding there.