Summer Gardening Tips

Don't be afraid to trim those flowering shrubs and trees that are starting to look straggly about mid-summer—failure to prune is probably the biggest gardening mistake a person can make. If you make a mistake pruning, don't worry about it—it will grow out.

Summer Humidity

Along with summer time heat usually comes high humidity. High humidity can cause a lot of problems with the plants in your garden and around your house. One of the simple things you can do is remember not to water just before dark. This is particularly important for garden planters! Make sure your plants are nice and dry when you tuck them in for the night and you can cut down of the chance fungus being a problem.

Powdery mildew and other summertime challenges

One of the most common, and annoying, fungus is powdery mildew. This appears as a white film on the leaves of many ornamental plants, particulary some varieties of roses. Powdery mildew isn't extremely harmful to the plants, it's just that the foliage is damaged and little growing takes place once it sets in. Your local garden center will have a general fungicide you can spray if you'd like to try and control it. Usually once the plant defoliates in the fall the plant is back to normal. Watch for early signs the following season and treat right away to stop the spread.

If you have Perennial Rye Grass in your lawn, and you probably do if you're in the north, you must be careful not to leave your grass wet at night. There is a fungus known as pythium blight that appears in very humid conditions. This fungus attacks and kills perennial rye grasses. Here in the north most of our lawns are a blend of fescues, perennial ryes, and Kentucky Blue Grass.

You can see this fungus in the early morning. It looks like white cotton candy laying on top of your lawn. It usually appears along walks and driveways where the soil is the wet if you have been watering. To prevent pythium blight water as early in the day as possible.

Another nasty little blight that likes summer time is Fire Blight. Fire Blight attacks ornamentals, especially apple trees, crabapple trees, Cotoneaster and Pyracantha. You know you have Fire Blight when a branch on one of your plants dies and turns almost red. The leaves usually hang on but turn reddish brown. The damage usually starts out near the end of the branch and works it's way toward the main stem of the plant. There is little you can do except prune out the affected branch, cutting it as far back as possible.

Fire Blight is very contagious to plants so you should burn the branches you prune out. You should also dip or wash your pruning shears in rubbing alcohol after each cut to keep from spreading this deadly fungus.

Keep a watchful eye throughtout the summer, treat any problems early and never hesitate to remove a plant that has a serious problem. It's better to lose just one plant, rather than allow the problem to spread while you try to combat it!