Lawns Need Attention in hot weather. Mower blades should be set at least 1-1/2 inches high but 2 inches is better. The grass shades the ground and protects the roots from hot sun and drying winds. In Florida and coastal areas where mole crickets are prevalent treat your lawn yourself of have a lawn professional do the job. It also rids grass of ants, army-worms and chinch bugs. Fertilizer manufacturers now mix some insecticides with fertilizer to give double action.

Summer Gardens call for special techniques. Mulching is a great labor and moisture saver. Apply a mulch of leaves (3 inches), pine straw (2 inches), peatmoss (1 inch) or vermiculite (1/2 to 1 inch) to shrubs, dahlias, roses and other widely-spaced plants.

Clip faded flowers off annuals, perennials, polyantha and climbing roses. This helps produce more blooms. Don’t let your plants go to seed, unless you want them to do so. Let roses rest in Florida and coastal areas. This is their natural semi-dormant period. Spray and !dust but withhold water and feed only enough to keep the plants in good condition.

Shrubs Need Attention Remove dead wood and prune branches for shape. If you plan to move large shrubs this fall root-prune now, one side of the shrub at a time, at four to five-week intervals until all sides have been cut. Cut through the roots with a spade under the outer reaches of the branches. This produces a compact mass of fine roots easily lifted at moving time. If tops are large, prune back about a third at root-pruning time to balance tops and roots.

Hibiscus have long been a popular flowering shrub in Florida. Dozens of beautiful new hybrids are available, most in pots for immediate transplanting.

Lycoris Radiata red spider lily, bulbs planted now will bloom in September. Plant shallow, just enough to cover bulbs.

Vegetable Gardens are still going strong. For Middle and Upper South plant rutabaga and Irish potato. Also start purple top turnip, carrot, beet, broccoli and lettuce for fall. Collard and cabbage plants may be set out. In the Lower South plant bean, collard, cowpea, pepper, pumpkin, radish, rutabaga, New Zealand spinach, squash and turnip seed. Sweet potato plants and peppers may be set out.

Pest Control is one of the major gardening operations this month. Study the latest insecticides and fungicides about rose pest control. Combination materials make it possible to control most insects and diseases in plants like the rose bush pest without mixing chemicals.

Mildew on hardy phlox, zinnia, crape myrtle and roses dust or spray with sulfur.

Blackspot of roses spray with Neem Oil or recommended fungicide.

Leaf spot and rust use Neem Oil as spray or dust. Red spider on boxwood, dahlia, and other plants dust or spray with malathion or Neem oil.

White fly on gardenia, ligustrum, camellia and azalea spray with horticultural oil, Malathion or Neem Oil. Lacewing on azalea and pyracantha treat same as white fly.

Aphids spray with horticultural oil, Malathion or Neem Oil.

Organic rose gardening is becoming progressively popular among rose enthusiasts. Roses have been grown by individuals for 1000s of years before artificial chemical substances were ever invented and hence these chemicals do not have to be depended on to have a exquisite garden of roses. By maintaining an organic yard you are able to increase the longevity of your roses and keep your family, pets, and wildlife away from damaging chemical substances.

The earth, plants, and wildlife has been about millions of years doing ok on its own without the support of mankind. It is simply when mankind gets it in his head that he can do better than nature when matters begin getting out of balance. Ordinarily, plants draw foods and water from their roots. The leaves of the plant go through photosynthesis which is the process of utilizing water and sunlight to make energy. Soil by nature contains bacteria, fungus, nematodes, worms, plus other organisms. These organisms breakdown dead stuffs that enrich the soil. Employing chemical substance fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides destroy natural land organisms and disrupt the natural relationship of the roses and the soil. Without helpful bacteria to protect rose plant roots, damaging fungi can move in and harm the plant. Plus, it is viable to get your roses dependent on chemical fertilizers. The more you use chemical to liven up your roses, the more the roses will depend on the chemicals.

Growing roses organically is low-cost and easy. You are just leaving out the purchase of chemical plant foods and pest control. You are still capable of feeding the soil and care for your roses without these things. Some soil might call for a little assistance. The optimal means to do that is to work compost into the land of a new garden or as a top dressing or mulch in an existing garden. Anyone can start a compost pile in their yard by adding disintegrating plant clippings, animal waste, grass clippings, dry leaves, and even kitchen scraps like fruit peels or fish heads to a pile and letting it to decompose over time. There are some different, easy ways to produce a compost pile in a container or in a pile but most ways require you to stir the pile to guarantee that all of the compost is decaying correctly.

Organic gardening likewise means staying away from most types of pest control. But, that does not mean that you are wholly powerless against pests. Sometimes pesticides not just kill the insects that are causing damage to your plants, they also kill the insects that assist you plants by consuming harmful ones. Lady bugs and many wasps are considered positive for preying on insect pests. Birds will consume grubs, and even frogs, lizards, and snakes help to prevent pest problems. If a pesticide is truly required, rose plant possessors can buy organic or natural pesticides that are really effective and are less poisonous. Plus, they can target a particular problem by killing that type of pest insect and not much else.

The goal in rose planting is to develop the biggest blossoms, the most fragrant, and over all the most exquisite roses around. This project can be completed organically by investing just as much time and effort into your garden as you would put money into chemical substance plant foods and toxic pesticides.

Would you like to grow football size mums in your garden? Mums that will bring visitors from miles around with Oh” and Ah” and “I dont see how you do it” expressions? Then follow these methods and have that pleasure and satisfaction.

Mums love the sun even though a 100 degree temperature may make them wilt in the middle of the day. Choose a location where they will receive sun at least half the day. They should be protected from strong winds. Most growers find that mums need protection from the first freeze and the hard rains which sometimes injure the blossoms – I’ve grow mums both with and without protection. It is wise, therefore, to plan a frame for covering before planting.

If you don’t want to go to so much trouble, choose the south or east side of a building, an evergreen hedge, or a man-made windbreak. You then trust to luck that the first freeze does not come early and ruin all the fine blooms. I have two beds. One is covered with unbleached muslin: the other is on the south side of the house and is not covered. Should you become nervous that a freeze is coming before the blossoms are fully open, you can cut the half open blooms, store in a cool place in deep water and the blooms will open beautifully.

Enriching the Soil

Any soil that grows good vegetables will grow mums. But the richer the soil the finer the mums, because they are very heavy feeders. Soil must have good drainage, fertility and plenty of humus. Remember that sandy soil takes more water because water runs through faster. Clay soil packs, thus the drainage is poor. The answer is to use peat moss, well rotted barn-yard manure or the compost you make in your own back yard or a mixture of all three.

A smart thing to do is to prepare the soil as soon as possible after harvesting the current crop. One grower puts a three or four inch layer of barnyard fertilizer on her plot, lets it lie all winter and forks in as soon as spring opens up. Another makes the top five inches about one fourth peat moss. I use a combination of manure, peat and compost from my own back yard. Peat contains nitrogen, holds moisture, and promotes root growth. Many growers rough-spade the plot and let it lie over winter to freeze. In early spring they re-spade and plant a legume, such as garden peas, that will be harvested by mum planting time. This puts the plot to good use and builds the soil at the same time. Something nearly always happens and I don’t get the legume planted. So I sprinkle about four pounds of super phosphate to each one hundred square feet over the top of the plot, then spade to the depth of the fork.

In choosing varieties it is well to consult growers in your general area to find out what varieties do best for them. Lacking that source of information choose varieties that will flower before the first freeze, if possible. I choose October or early November flowering varieties. Here in central Oklahoma our first freeze usually comes the first week in November. Most of us have some sort of protection since these varieties often don’t flower until after the first freeze. The hot weather that so often comes in September prevents the plants from setting buds when they normally should set. Likewise, September flowering varieties rarely ever flower before the last of October.

Some growers take plants by root division, that is by lifting the whole plant and dividing the root growth each spring. One grower uses a butcher knife to cut the roots between each little plant early in the spring. Left undisturbed for two or three weeks these divisions are well rooted and can be moved anywhere. I prefer cuttings because they are less likely to be diseased. Cuttings start off quicker.

To start cuttings take four or five inches from the tips of the fastest growing plants. These are not hardened, thus are more likely to grow. At my work table, I take a very sharp knife and cut straight across the stem one-fourth inch below a leaf and 2-1/2 to three inches from the top of the cutting. The two lower leaves are removed, but the cutting needs the remainder of the leaves to produce food for root formation.

Many growers use media such as vermiculite, perlite, sphagnum moss, or a mixture of sand and vermiculite to root the cuttings.

When the cuttings are rooted they may be planted in their permanent place or they may be potted up for a few days, until the roots start growing in the soil. Personally, I find plants do better if they are planted in plant bands for a couple of weeks. By this time the bands should be full of roots. Plants are slipped out of the bands, planted in their permanent place, and watered in without suffering any set-back whatsoever. This method is really little trouble.

When each plant is firmed in, I water to settle the soil or buy hyponex potting soil. If more hyponex soil is needed it is then added, after which a light watering is given that contains a starter solution. The flats are set in a lightly shaded place where they are left for the desired time. The plants will need watering two or three times during the period.

Chrysanthemums must be kept growing; although when we have six weeks of drought with temperatures soaring to 105 degrees and cooling only slightly at night, it is difficult to do. The answer is to give the plants plenty of moisture. but dont keep them wet. Mums will wilt badly in the hot sun, but by sundown the foliage will be as fresh and crisp as ever if they are kept well watered and the bed heavily mulched. I use a steel stake for testing purposes. The stake is stuck in the soil about five inches deep in several different places in the bed. If it comes out dry, I water by laying the end of the hose on the bed. The water is permitted to run, (without the nozzle) until the soil is well soaked. Usually irrigating every week or ten days is all that is necessary.