North Escambia Area August Gardening, Lawn Tips

August 9, 2009

The Escambia County Master Gardeners offer the following tips for the month of August:

Yard
Direct Sow: Seeds of late cosmos, gaillardia, lupine, petunia, zinnia, calendula, candy tuft, nicotiana, pansy, marigold, and verbena.
Start: Seeds of butterfly weed, purple coneflower,  coreopsis and other perennials to be set out as  transplants later in the fall season. Start your seeds indoors because of the heat. Shade them when  transplanting to the garden.
Plant: Amaryllis, ajuga, Louisiana iris, ginger lily, daylilies. Plant your woody ornamentals in order for them to become established before winter.

Vegetables
Direct Sow: Seeds of beans (bush, pole, lima), sweet corn, cucumbers, onions (bulbing & green), peppers, southern peas, pumpkin, summer squash, turnips, and watermelon. Select varieties that mature early in order to produce before the weather gets too cool. Provide adequate water and watch for pests.
Plant: The tomato suckers you rooted in the spring,  and broccoli, cauliflower, and collards. To plant  garlic – Separate the cloves and plant, pointed end up, four to six inches apart and one inch deep.

Miscellaneous
Monitor plants carefully for pests and beneficials.  Be especially alert for azalea caterpillars, Dantana  major Grote & Robinson (Insecta:  epidoptera:  Notodontidae). They can defoliate a bush  overnight!

Do not apply nitrogen to lawngrass too late in the  growing season, as this can slow regrowth the  following spring. A general guideline for the last
fertilizer application is mid-September for north Florida. It is possible to apply potassium at a rate of  1 pound of potassium per 1000 square feet. This will help the grass to overwinter, tolerate cold  temperatures, and green-up quickly in the spring.

garden.jpgCheck the mulch around your plants as organic matter decomposes readily in our climate. Add  enough to bring the level back to three inches. Be
sure to keep the mulch pulled away from stems and trunks as roots can form in it, causing the plant to  become susceptible to winter damage. Mulch right against the stem can also invite damage from insects  and fungi.

Container plants may need watering every day. Continue using a water soluble fertilizer as nutrients  wash through the soil.

Continue to water shallow rooted plants such as azaleas, camellias, blueberries and dogwoods during dry spells.

Clean up perennial clumps that have bloomed out  and give them a light application of fertilizer.  Apply last feeding to azaleas, camellias, and
gardenias.

Disbud camellias to increase flower size. (As soon  as you can distinguish the rounded flower buds from the pointed vegetative bud, twist off all but
one of the flower buds at each tip.)

Tie dahlias to stout stakes and continue to disbud if  large blooms are desired.

Take cuttings of woody ornamentals to increase your stock: azaleas, oleander, hydrangea, camellia,  gardenia, etc. This is the latest in the year you
should air layer.

Try rooting some cuttings of your cold sensitive  ornamentals. If they freeze during a cold winter,  you will have replacements for the spring.

This is the last month to pinch back mums and  poinsettias to produce bushing but do not disbud the  plant. Purchase near-mature mums to add color, but do not pinch back.

Keep adding to that compost pile! Remember,  diseased plant material should never be added to  your compost pile.

The Escambia County Master Gardener Program was established in 1984, jointly with Santa Rosa County. Since that time each county has developed their own program to assist their respective Horticulture Agent. The Escambia County Master Gardener Association currently has 78 certified volunteers and 16 trainees. The volunteers have contributed more than 101,926 hours of volunteer service to the community since 1987. For more information, click here.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Features, News