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| Prune |
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Cultivate
and/or Mulching |
By
breaking up the ground 2–3 inches deep with a hoe or shovel when
you need it, you can destroy weeds, check for pests and let air
reach into the soil to cool the roots and speed up plant growth.
This task also helps to conserve water by allowing better
penetration. Wait 1–3 days after watering to cultivate. Be careful not to cultivate around azaleas,
camellias and roses or corn and tomatoes. Their shallow roots can be
damaged very easily.
A two-inch layer of mulch can be very
effective during the summer to prevent weeds and loss of water. It
will also help cool the ground and roots. If cultivating isn't
possible, this is a solution that will last longer and is often
better. Be careful to watch for stem rot and pest
problems with snails, slugs and sow bugs that like to hide and stay
cool in it too.
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Roses |
Try
to find middle ground when cutting roses for flowers. Cutting stems
too short or too long will determine how fast they will re-bloom and
effect the strength of the stem. If you cut flowers with long stems,
it will take longer for them to bloom again. If you cut flowers with
short stems they will bloom, but you’ll end up with inferior
flowers on short weak stems. Natural long-stemmed roses can be cut
with longer stems but keep at least two leaves at the bottom of each
plant. Continue to disbud Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora roses. Wait
until a rosebush is over a year old before cutting for flowers. Cut
above the first 5-leaflets that point away from the center of the
plant. Deadhead blooms that have faded on the bush.
Prune ramblers just after they finish
blooming. Don’t cut any new (green) wood canes, but prune out old
(gray) wood that has bloomed this year. Asymmetrical and crossover
branches can ruin the overall shape so remove them and cut off the
thin weak ones at ground level and you’ll have new canes blooming
next year. New growth starts in summer. As new canes grow, tie them
up.
Tip: To make cut roses last
longer, put them in a sink filled with tepid water for 20-30
minutes. Leave the thorns and clip off the lower leaves
under the water. Fill a vase with one of the following solutions: 1
quart water, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar and
1/2 teaspoon of bleach. You can try 16 oz of regular 7-up, 1 pint of
water and 1/2 teaspoon of bleach.
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Camellias
&
Azaleas |
Pruning
will improve the shape
and help camellias bloom. If you prune right after they finish
flowering you may increase the number of flowers for next year. Prune just beyond the bump created from
last year’s growth (you’ll notice a difference in color) and you
can prune further back on the branch to the following year's growth.
If you go too far, you may have to wait for an extra year to see
flowers.
Clean up any dead blooms to prevent
blossom blight. Pinch back the tips to encourage bushiness or cut
out old rambling branches. Use hedge shears to cut off all the tips
and next year you'll have flowers all over the top. Don’t over water azaleas, but don’t
let them dry out completely.
After pruning, add
Premium Cedar Bark Mulch from Nature's Harvest to keep the
roots cool and keep them moist. (See Fertilize and Disease
Control for more information).
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Cyclamen
and Primroses |
Dig
up and divide polyanthus primroses once they stop blooming and throw
them away. If you choose to, you can keep the offshoots and put them in 6-inch pots out
of the way in a shady spot. Keep them damp and protected from
caterpillars, mites, slugs and snails. Feed occasionally with
Liquinox Fish Emulsion.
Cyclamen can be kept by removing the
plant and letting the entire root mass dry out in the sun in hot
interior areas. If you are on the coast, let them go into
semi-dormancy and put them in a very shady spot and water them only
occasionally and your winter blooms will be fantastic. Don't
fertilize them.
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Petunias |
Petunias
are subject to virus diseases. By dipping your shears in alcohol,
bleach or Lysol, you won’t infect them. Tobacco virus can be
spread to these plants, so if you’re a smoker, wash your hands
before pruning. Cut cascade varieties lightly, but prune others to
four inches above the ground now, in late August and again in late
September. They’ll bounce back in about two weeks.
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Hydrangeas |
Once
the flowers fade, cut the stalks that have bloomed leaving two buds
or leaf scars for next year. You’ll have flowers later this year
or next if you don’t cut green stems that haven’t bloomed
yet. Cut young plants back very lightly.
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Fuchsias |
Once
flowers fall, pinch off the seed pods to encourage more blooming.
Keep them watered, but they are prone to root rot so don't over
water.
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Bearded
Iris |
Irises
require dividing every three years. The roots become tangled and
they will stop blooming. Once they finish flowering in June or July in
most areas, divide them. (See the Divide and Plant section for
specific information on dividing irises.)
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Hibiscus |
It
is very important for flowering to prune hibiscus regularly. To
encourage bushiness in shrubs, prune three or four branches back to
two or three growth buds from the center every six weeks throughout the
summer. Be sure to take branches
from opposite sides to maintain a good shape. If you want a
hedge, keep the tips on one third of the shrub cut back to about one or
two feet all over the sides and top. Continue cutting back one third
each month throughout the summer. Follow up pruning with fertilizer
and water.
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Shrubs
and Hedges |
If
you want to keep potentially tall shrubs from becoming trees,
you’ll need to prune them frequently during warmer months. Work
toward a flowing form—wider at the bottom than at the top. This
will allow the bottom branches to get the sun they need. Cut plants
with small leaves on the outside like a hedge. Cut branches from
deep inside the shrub if it is a large-leaf plant. Prune plants like
oleander and heavenly bamboo that grow and spray out at the top like
a fountain by cutting entire branches to the ground after blooming.
Marguerites should be well fed
and regularly deadheaded. Once the flowers get smaller and die, prune
the top and sides completely if you live along the coast. Remove all
the flowers but try to leave some green tips and a few buds in
coastal areas. If you
live inland or in a hot valley, replace them with something else.
Gamolepis should be pruned
often to keep them tidy. They can get very large if allowed. They
will come back if pruned all the way to the ground or, prune any way you
feel is best. They are a good landscape plant; drought resistant
deal well with frost and heat and will bloom year-round regardless
of whether you deadhead them or not.
Euyops (yellow shrub daisy)
can be pruned anytime, but during the summer they bloom less than
the fall and spring so it's best to shear and shape it all over
now.
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Water
Lilies
and other
Aquatic Plants |
Remove
yellow lily and lotus leaves by snapping them at the base. They can
really pollute your pond. You can also remove spent lily blooms. Use
pruners to cut dead and dying foliage from marginals. Seed heads on
marginals can be removed if desired or left on for decoration, for
food for wildlife, or to mature to be planted either by a person or
naturally. Remove large seed pods to help the plant concentrate its
energy elsewhere.
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Winter-
and Spring-flowering bushes, ground covers, trees and vines |
Refer
to a pruning manual for specific plants. In general, plants that
bloom once a year should be pruned right after they have finished
blooming and not before they bloom.
Geraldton Waxflower should be
heavily pruned after they finishes blooming. Cut the plant back to the
trunk, but not all the way to the ground. It can grow very large
depending on the space.
Jasmine (Polyanthums) if you
remove faded flowers you may have a second blooming. After the
second bloom, cut it back hard to help it from tangling on
the inside.
New Zealand Tea Trees are
shaped as you cut flowers for display. After they finish blooming
continue to shape by removing branches and heading back tips to
increase bushiness.
Trailing African Daisy should
be cut back early this month to head-off the possibility of summer
fungus. Remove clippings and dead leaves and put down nitrolized
wood shavings. If you fertilize, you may get another bloom!
Wisteria should be tied gently
where you want them to a strong support. To create strong bloom spurs
that will give you flowers for many years, cut back new growth to
two or three buds from the main branch once it has reached the size
and shape you want.
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Deciduous
Fruit Trees |
Your last thinning should be after June drop. You may still need to remove more to even out the fruit
on the branches. Keep the fruit cleaned up under the tree before it
can rot and spread disease. Be sure to keep deciduous fruit trees
well watered in June and July.
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Cool- and
Warm-Season Grasses |
Regardless
of whether you have a cool- or a warm-season grass, it is time to
reset your mower blades. Cool-season grasses should be allowed
to grow a bit taller during the hot months to protect the roots from
the sun and heat.
Cut them at about 2 inches and the new disease-
and drought-resistant tall fescue varieties between 2 and 3 inches. Warm-season
grasses can be cut shorter -- about 1 inch. Depending on your
preference, dichondra can be mowed
or left alone. Zoysia should be mowed to about
5/8 inches.
Keep your lawn watered well during
the hot months.
Water deeply and infrequently and as early in the
day as possible.
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Tomatoes
and Vegetables |
Pinch
off suckers and side branches above leaf joints on tomato plants and
cut back to two major vines if they are staked or on a trellis. If
plants have too much shade, have been allowed to dry out, or are
experiencing temperatures below 55° or above 75°, you may have
flowers but no fruit. If temperature is causing the problem try a
different variety or use a blossom-set spray specifically for
tomatoes.
Be sure to use this product exactly as directed. Uneven
or over watering can cause your tomatoes to have blossom end rot
where your nice red tomato looks great until you turn it over and
find a black rotten spot on the bottom. Keep tomatoes mulched to help
them hold moisture.
Continue to harvest vegetables when
they are young and tender–daily if
possible.
• Beets are best small to golf ball sized.
• Cantaloupe
should be picked when the fruit will fall of in your hand without
pulling on it.
• Carrots can be easily pulled up in sandy soil
or loosen them with a fork if you have clay soil. They are ready to
eat when they are finger-sized.
• Pierce Corn with your
fingernail. If the juice runs milky, it's ready.
• Pick cucumbers
often to keep them bearing.
• Eggplant should be shiny and
large enough to cut and eat. When you press on it, it should not
spring back.
• Don't pick green beans when the leaves are wet
(it can spread rust) but get them when the outside is still velvety
and not bumpy.
• Once you can clearly feel the pod full, pick lima
beans.
• Full sized, well formed and crisp peppers are
best. Leave some on the plant to go red if you want, but not all of
them, they'll stop producing.
• Don't wait for radishes to
split before you pick them.
• Pick summer squash when they are
small. You can cook them with the blossom and all.
• Some varieties of
watermelon may be ripe enough to pick in July, larger ones
probably won't be ready until August.
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