Water smart, not more
Everything in the watering guide matters most now. Cycle-and-soak your sprinklers, hand-water anything planted this year, and water trees at the trunk, not the lawn. Mulch is not optional — bare clay bakes into a brick and the roots underneath cook.
What you can still plant
People are surprised that we plant all summer, and you can too if you commit to watering. Container-grown trees and shrubs, crape myrtles (they bloom now, so you can pick your color), vitex, esperanza, pride of Barbados, lantana, salvia, purslane, vinca and pentas all handle a July planting. Plant in the evening, water in deeply, and shade a new shrub with a lawn chair for the first few afternoons if it wilts. What to avoid: anything cool-season, anything balled-and-burlap, and big bed makeovers — save those for fall.
Lawn care in the heat
Raise the mower — 3 inches for St. Augustine, 1½–2 for Bermuda, 2 for Zoysia. Taller grass shades its own roots and the soil. Fertilize lightly in early June and then leave it alone until September; feeding a lawn in August just feeds the stress. Watch for chinch bugs in St. Augustine (dry-looking patches along hot driveways and sidewalks that do not green up with water) and grubs in July, when turf peels back like carpet.
Bugs and blights
Spider mites explode in hot, dry weather — look for stippled, dusty leaves on tomatoes, junipers and marigolds, and blast the undersides with water every few days. Whiteflies on hibiscus and lantana, mealybugs on anything in shade, and the ever-present aphids all respond to insecticidal soap or horticultural oil applied early in the morning. Do not spray oils above 90°; you will burn the leaves.
Tomatoes, peppers and the fall garden
Tomatoes stop setting fruit once nights stay above the mid-70s. Keep the plants alive through July, cut them back a third in early August, and they will set a second crop in September and October. Plant fall tomato transplants in July, and start fall vegetables — squash, beans, cucumbers — in early August. Pumpkins for Halloween are planted in early June, if you are the patient type.
Late September: the cool front
When the first real front comes through, the whole season changes. That is when fall planting starts in earnest — trees, shrubs, perennials, mums and, in October, pansies. Have a look at the fall guide so you are ready for it.
Written by the Nursery Professionals at Landscape Source Nursery, 167 Ole West Lane, Rockwall. Questions? Call (469) 698-0037 or send us a note.