Even when the sidereal day start to get shorter , there ’s still plenty you may do to aid pass the summer season and keep your garden look expectant until fall come to pass and winter stage set in .
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There are harvest to reap , perennial to part , seeds to collect , and everything needs water as the growing time of year moves on .
Photo by Lorna Kring.
And that makes August and September a time for maintenance , generation , and maintenance in the Northern Hemisphere .
To keep your garden looking great now and throughout the class , join us for a look at 17 tips to keep your recent summer garden blend in potent !
Here ’s where this garden track leads …
17 Tips for Your Late Summer Garden
Right , permit ’s get into these confidential information and so you’re able to see why they ’re important for a warm garden !
1. Collect Seeds
By the meter August arrives , many plants have finished flowering and localise seed , ripening in the warmth of the summer sun .
Once mature seed head have turned from green to beige , dark-brown , or hoary , accumulate bloom seedsby cutting ejaculate heads from the stem .
branch the seeds from the chaff and shoes in small , lidded container or paper envelopes – remember to date and label them !
Store in a cool , gloomy , and dry draftsman or closet until planting sentence next year .
2. Care for Containers
As the produce season wears on , container plants are often the first to show signs of heating plant fatigue , with leggy plants , fewer blooms , and shopworn foliage .
To keep your planter vibrantly colourful for the entire season , ensure they ’re watered regularly and continue to inseminate through the entire growing season as outlined in oursix wide-eyed prank to keep your container look great .
For pot veggies like cucumbers , tomatoes , peppers , and so on , even lachrymation and feeding are crucial for an abundant harvest – check ourguide to produce vegetable in containersfor all the detail .
3. Cut Back Lightly
When perennial bug out to look raggedy or overgrown of late in the time of year , a light trim can repair appearance .
Cut away drained or dying branches and expend flower stalks , and trim out brown or wilted leaf .
For foresightful , robustious staunch , manoeuver back this yr ’s increase by up to one - third . But use a loose touch and avoid pruning firmly late in the time of year because it encourage new growth .
fresh growth that has n’t temper off is more well damaged by rime and freezing temperatures , which give the full plant to destructive cold damage .
4. Deadhead Spent Flowers
Many yearly and perennial cultivars are breed so that deadheading is n’t required for the plants to rebloom or defend a tidy appearance .
But many varieties that do self - seeded player benefit from the regular removal of spent flowers , diverting free energy into making more bloom , not seeds . And deadheading also prevents strong-growing self - seeding !
apply clean , crisp shear to snip flower head every week , which also further a light , late rebloom in many plants .
If you do want some plants to ego - seed , or you bid to hoard seed , grant a few seed heads to remain and shake or gather them when ripe . When you ’re finished , deadhead to tidy things up .
If you ’re unfamiliar with the drill , our scout onhow to deadhead blooming plantsis a great place to start .
5. Divide Perennials
Most perennials are best divided in spring or fall , because hot temperatures can make it difficult to establish new roots . But there are some that need to be divided in late summertime .
Species such as bearded iris , foxtail grass lilies , and orientalpoppiesflower in former fountain , go inactive in summer ’s hot sunshine , and then revive as the temperatures chill off . And they need to be lifted and separated when they ’re sleeping .
After flowering , allow the foliage to dry out and die back . piss the plants well , soak the stem profoundly to make them easy to lift and part .
Then follow the steps sketch in guides such ashow to part and transfer irisesorthe complete guide to separate perennials .
After dividing and transplanting , be trusted to weewee divisions well to ensconce them into their new locations and practice pee on a regular basis until they ’re established .
6. Fertilize Lightly
If recent summer is hot and dry in your region , it may be wise to hold off on fertilizing your plants .
Feeding plants already stressed from high-pitched heat or drought weather does n’t help to resuscitate them and may cause more wrong than near – the beginning and foliation of weakened plants are more susceptible to burn from plant food salts .
Instead , continue to irrigate heat - stricken plants and trim down them back by one - one-quarter if ask , then wait until temperatures cool off late in the season before a final feeding .
Or you could fertilizelightlywith a one - quarter military capability solution of liquid or water soluble fertilizers but stave off full intensity level applications .
AgroThrive Liquid Fertilizer
A general design fertiliser like AgroThrive organic liquid fertilizer ( 3 - 3 - 2 NPK ) is suited for most plant . It’savailable at Arbico Organicsorvia Amazon .
7. Harvest Summer Crops
Reaping your own tasty , healthy crop is really one of the high spot of the originate season !
And previous summertime is when the harvest and preservation of herbs , fruit , and veggies goes into full swing .
Continue to pick daily in lowly amount for your personal consumption and put up surplusage amounts of produce as stock-still foods , dried goodness , preserves , or take root cellar stock .
For the root cellar , reference our many guide , likehow to put in your apple harvest . We also have article on how to storepears , sweet potatoes , andpumpkins .
For informative and inspirational articles on preserving foods , check out our sister internet site , Foodal , for all the know - how on thebest solid food dehydrators , how to start canning your own foods , makingjams , jelly , and preservesorpickles , andhow to carry on fresh herbs .
you could also say tomatoesanddehydrating homegrown produce for recollective - term reposition .
8. Lawn Mowing Tactics
To keep yourlawns looking lusciousand good for you , raise the cutting altitude of your lawnmower vane by June 21 .
Allowing blades of grass to grow longer help to keep the antecedent cool and reduce water dehydration , resulting in healthier plants .
Mowing is stressful , and lawn recover faster when cut in the cool of evening and not during the afternoon ’s warmth .
Also , August and September are good time to reseed your sward if it ’s irrigate on a regular basis .
9. Mulch for a Cooling Touch
A summer mulch is like a solace puff , reducing accent in plant by keeping the grime temperature down , cooling the roots , and retaining moisture for farseeing by decelerate evaporation .
Many types of raw materials make an excellent mulch .
Grass clippings , kelp , leaf mould , pine needles , untreated sawdust , lowly pine tree bough , andstrawall work well . As the textile decompose , they release micronutrients into the soil and improve the soil social structure , or tilth , as well .
And amulch is effective for low - maintenance gardensas they keep the weeds down too , reducing your clip spent on this onerous task !
Spread a two- to four - inch layer of mulch evenly over the rootage zone and out to the dripline , but keep materials a couple of column inch forth from the crowns and stems of any works susceptible to egress like crown rot or root buncombe .
If desired , you may go away your mulch in place over winter toprotect roots from cold damage , allow for there are no obvious pesterer or disease trouble .
Or , if no pests are present , natural mulches can be dug into the land in gloam .
Should your plants have louse or pathogen problems , remove the mulch in autumn and dispose of it in the garbage or by cauterise it . Do n’t add it to your compost .
10. Replace Early-Flowering Annuals
sure annual , likepansies , snapdragons , andstock , expand and flower in the cooler temperatures of spring and later summer or pass but grow few blossom in gamey heat .
To keep container and bottom colorful all season , remove early - flowering annuals by midsummer and replace them with fast - acquire rut lovers , such as angelonia , mistflower , coleus , salvia , sweet potato vine , andzinnia .
But do n’t toss the early annuals – dilute them back by up to one - half and move them into a background spot or a container so you’re able to enjoy a late - season rebloom once temperatures cool down .
11. Self-Seeding for Easy Propagation
ego - seeding is an well-situated and economical way to propagate sure yearly , biennials , flowering bulbs , herbs , and perennials .
When seedlings seem the next spring , they can be left in position or lifted and transplanted to a more desirable location once they ’re about six inches tall .
Species and open - pollinated plants are the best choices for self - seeding because the seed from many intercrossed cultivars wo n’t multiply true to the parent plant .
A partial inclination of abundant self - seeder includes :
Along with propagating new plants , when ejaculate head are left in position they cater an important food beginning for chaffer raspberry .
12. Set Out Summer-Blooming Bulbs
For a gorgeous punch of previous coloring , set out summer - flowering bulbs such ascalla lilies , canna lilies , dahlias , andgladiolus .
Most of these plant are cold tender , so they ’re typically imbed in beds and borderline in mid- to late spring after all danger of icing has pass .
Or they can be pot up early in temporary container to start produce in a protected site , then planted out when natural spring - flower bulb likedaffodilsandtulipshave finished and become flat back .
13. Start Cool-Season Crops
Mid- to former summertime is the ideal time to set late - season , nerveless - weather craw that are harvested in autumn , or overwinter and pluck early the following spring .
fantabulous late - season veggies includebroccoli , common beet , Brussels sprouts , pelf , carrots , Brassica oleracea botrytis , kohlrabi , leeks , radishes , andscallions , plus many leafy greens as well , includingarugula , collards , kale , lettuce , mustard , spinach , andSwiss chard .
Some vegetable , like Brussels sprout and clams , enjoy and even gain from a trace of frost , butmany leafy green will blacken from frost .
A simple result to extend the fall time of year is toadd a floating row cover , which efficaciously protect tender foliation against nippy temperature .
14. Stir and Water Compost Bins
By summer ’s remainder , there ’s plenty of new material in garden compost bins .
If your bin have lots of unexampled unripe material like weed clipping and pruned foliage , add a thin bed of dirt over the top .
This helps to speed up up the breakdown process and develops a nice humusy base to aid in the breakdown of dry brown materials which are add later in dip .
For binful with no new materials that are already decomposing for use next spring , apply a garden fork or compost auger to loosen and aerate . This set aside air and water to filter equally throughout the layer for even , exhaustive decay .
And all BIN should be watered in red-hot , wry spells – water is needed for bacteria and insects to deform waste materials into garden gold !
If you ’re young to this practice , be sure to check outthe basics of composting .
15. Watch for Pests and Disease
Along with weed , supervise for gadfly and signs of disease needs to be maintain for the full growing time of year .
Watch for the appearance of live - weather pestilence likeaphids , cutworms , andspider mites , and pathogens like blight , powdery mold , and rust .
Remove insects manually with a strong atomizer of weewee from the hose , or care for with natural pesticide like neem oil , which is also effective against many pathogen .
To aid forestall problems from occurring , assure plant life are space for adequate air circulation , water regularly , and plant in well - debilitate soil .
Bonide Neem rock oil
you could encounter Bonide Neem Oil in dry pint , quart , and gallon sizesat Arbico Organics .
16. Water On
Few thing can wrench a lucullan garden to tag end faster than a lack of water .
In many areas , rain is inadequate in late summer . Most annuals and perennials need an average of one inch of weewee per week .
Lawns and sod need to be watered frequently in hot weather to prevent the attack of dormancy , and trees and shrub typically need about two inches of water supply per week in dry spell .
Water slowly and deep to ensure the entire root testis receives moisture , which helps roots to rise mysterious .
Also , fend off water the foliage to suppress the spread of pathogens . A dribble or cloudburst irrigation system on a timekeeper is an easy and economical direction to complete your weekly lacrimation project .
For ideas that work best for your garden , be sure to say up onhydrating your landscape painting .
17. Weed Before They Seed
One affair a nurseryman can always count on is the challenging , even , and persistent appearance of skunk …
They fly high in hot temperatures , quickly steal nutrient , sun , and H2O from the plant you want to produce !
To keep underweight growth in tick , schedule draw widow’s weeds on a even basis when they ’re immature and small . Get out there and complete this task hebdomadal if potential .
If you ca n’t get at them on a regular basis , be indisputable to absent garden weed before they set seed . A singledandelion plantcan produce up to 2,000 seeds – a potential scenario many gardeners would not want to deal with !
Our usher onhow to pass less clip weedinghas many helpful tip .
The Talk of the Neighborhood
A few simple practices can avail assure your garden stays strong through previous summer , and all year long !
Keep things cool with a summer mulch , and colorful with later summer bulbs .
Stay on top of chores like plague patrol , watering , and weeding as well as propagation practice such as section and seed collection .
Then get busy at harvest home time to preserve your produce yield and remember to set forth cool - season crops to enjoy in fall . Your garden will honor you with a fantastical display that ’ll be the talk of the neighborhood !
And for more easygoing ways tokeep your garden in top anatomy , check out the mind in these templet next :
© Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Originally published on August 28 , 2014 . Last update on July 14 , 2023 . Product photos via Arbico Organics . Uncredited pic : Shutterstock .
About
Lorna Kring
