• Be careful of the heat. Wear a hat and sunscreen; drink plenty of water. Try to do outside work in the morning or evening, when it is cooler.
• Be sure to trim trees and vines growing near swimming pools.
• Choose crape myrtles.
• Clean off the stems from agapanthus and daylilies that have already bloomed.
• Control fireblight by removing disfigured branches and twigs.
• Control pests and diseases that cause dead brown patches on cool-season lawns.
• Control pests on fuchsias.
• Control rose pests and diseases.
• Control white grubs on cool-season lawns.
• Cut back your petunias in mid-August to keep them flowering.
• Cut off the suckers from deciduous fruit trees.
• Do not fertilize deciduous fruit trees.
• Feed fuchsias, tuberous begonias, water lilies, cymbidiums, ferns and tropicals.
• Feed warm-season lawns. Feed cool-season lawns only if they show signs of yellowing.
• If you started biennials from seed in July, fertilize them with fish emulsion at weekly intervals.
• Fertilize roses.
• Give fuchsias a light pruning.
• Control weeds by mulching, cultivating, and hand-pulling.
• Pick out and purchase cassias and flame eucalyptus.
• Plant papayas, bananas, and palms.
• Plant tropicals in coastal zones.
• Prune and train wisteria.
• Prune and train your espaliers through the growing season.
• Pull out dead crabgrass if you have previously treated it with weed killer.
• Purchase and plant succulents, cacti, and euphorbias.
• Remove dead and dying foliage from date palms.
• Remove suckers from roses.
• Stop pinching chrysanthemums.
• Study your irrigation system; check for malfunctioning heads. On drip irrigation systems, flush filters and headers.
• Transplant palms.
• Water warm-season lawns deeply at least once a week in most zones. Water cool-season lawns more shallowly and frequently. Follow local water restrictions, of course.

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When the weather is hot and dry and there is no measurable rain, even rookie gardeners are aware that most plants will not survive without regular watering. Unfortunately, just giving them a squirt with the water hose isn't going to do much to relieve their stress. Wise gardeners give their plants the amount of water each one needs in ways that save time, effort and water.

It is important to use the right equipment. Much water can be saved in the summer by watering each part of the garden by a method appropriately suited for it. Briefly, hand sprinkling is fine for sprouting seeds, but all other watering should be done with conventional irrigation systems or drip systems. Reserve watering by hose for filling furrows and basins around trees and bushes, when these are not equipped with bubblers. (When you water this way, put the hose right down on the ground, and let the water sink in slowly.)

In summer (or anytime for that matter), it is best to irrigate deeply but less frequently to encourage plants to send down deeper roots that are protected from the summer heat. Vegetables and annual flowers, though, will have to be watered more frequently since they don't produce deep root systems. For most grass lawns, watering to the point of runoff every 2-3 days is sufficient. Always water your garden in the early morning hours between 4:00 AM and 8:00 AM to reduce water evaporation.

Be sure to give special care to plants in containers. Plants in containers often suffer at this time of the year. Water them frequently, especially plants in terra cotta pots. These porous containers "breathe," allowing water to evaporate faster than plastic or glazed ceramic pots. If you take good care of your plants in summer, you will be rewarded throughout the rest of the year.

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These days, not even a backyard garden is free from danger. The vegetables and flowers over which you've labored so lovingly are prey for aphids, cutworms, mealy bugs, and many others. Using chemical pesticides is so last century. We now know that broad-spectrum conventional pesticides not only kill the bad bugs, they rub out the good ones as well. In fact, more and more insects are showing resistance to heavy-duty chemical pesticides. In a controlled experiment, fruit flies were exposed to DDT. Not only did it not kill them, the fruit flies had developed a way to metabolize the pesticide and use it as food!

Unfortunately, we've been finding out more and more that ingesting chemicals on the things that we eat can have a negative effect on us. We are what we eat. No matter how carefully you wash your vegetables that have been treated with chemicals, there is no guarantee that they don't still contain traces.

Luckily, there are natural predators that help keep our gardens free of pests. We can fight bugs with bugs!

Beneficial insects are nature's way of stabilizing pest populations. Take for example, the common green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea). Actually, take the offspring of this "aphid lion"; the adult lays her eggs on the foliage, each on the top of hair-like filaments. In a few days, the lacewing eggs hatch and the tiny larvae emerge with their voracious appetites for aphids, spider mites and red mites, thrips, whiteflies, long-tailed mealy bugs, the eggs of leafhoppers, moths and leafminers, small caterpillars, beetle larvae and tobacco budworms.

The larvae look like miniature alligators with tiny ice tong-like pincers that inject paralyzing venom. They then draw out the bodily fluids of their victim. It's not necessarily pretty, but they will help to keep your crops from being destroyed by these pests.  Many gardeners will find these in their gardens already, but they have become a staple at many garden centers, where they are sold to be released in your garden.

Green lacewing larvae can be released on numerous plants such as cotton, sweet corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, apples and strawberries. About 10 lacewing eggs per plant, or 1,000 eggs per 200 sq. ft. will control a moderate aphid population. During the two to three weeks in the larvae stage they will each devour up to 200 victims a week. After this, they pupate by spinning a cocoon with silken thread and approximately five days later the adults emerge to complete the life cycle. There are five or six overlapping generations each season. Since the larvae feed for about two weeks, a second release, two weeks later, might be necessary.

Chrysoperla carnea, the "original" green lacewing, just may prove to be the best all-purpose predator for your home garden.

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The Top 5 Mistakes Made by the New Gardener

1. Planting at the wrong time of year:
What this means will vary from place to place. While in some charmed places most things can be planted year-round, the majority of locales have definite planting seasons. For instance, in many areas of the Southwest, fall is considered the best time to plant most shrubs, trees, groundcover and lawns; if you live in the eastern part of the U.S., however, you will wait until spring to install most of these plants.

This timing issue also comes into play with annual flowers and vegetables. Some flowers and vegetables like the warmth of the spring and summer, while others prefer the coolness of the fall and winter. The goal is to time your planting for the earliest part of the season you are planting for, but not too early. Let's use marigolds (a summer annual) for an example. This plant likes heat, but can freeze if the temperatures are too cold. In some areas, you might begin seeing marigolds for sale in the late winter. Can you plant them then? Of course. Should you? Maybe not. Why? While it might work--if temperatures don't drop too low--you could be replacing your plants if they do.

If you are not sure whether to plant something at a certain time, please ask us; we will tell you whether it's the best time or if you would be better off waiting. Many garden centers serve a fairly large geographical area and these areas oftentimes have differing microclimates. That is why you will sometimes see plants in your local garden center that may be out of season for your particular area. The other thing to keep in mind is not to plant too late. Planting too late will not allow your flower or vegetable to achieve maturity before the cold (or warm) weather comes and stops it in its tracks!

2. Planting in the wrong exposure:
While some plants will take any exposure, most prefer predominantly sun or mostly shade. When you are shopping for your plant, take notice of where the plant is situated in the garden center; this will give you a good idea of where it will be happiest in your garden. If you're not sure, ask.

3. Planting in the wrong zone:
Just because you see a pretty plant growing in the sun, does not necessarily mean it will grow in the sun in your garden. Some plants prefer hot, dry areas and some prefer cool, misty spots. This is where the USDA Climate Zone chart (or in the west, the Sunset Western Garden Climate Zone chart) will really help. Most plants sold in garden centers are marked with their appropriate climate zone or if they are not, the garden center staff can tell you if it will grow in your zone.

4. Planting plants with different water requirements near each other:
Some plants prefer dry, well-drained soil and others like more water. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you will be able to manage the two effectively when they are planted next to each other--you won't. Save yourself the angst and use plants with similar needs together. The plants will be happier--and so will you.

5. Watering too often, too much, not often enough or not deep enough:
Whew! The above may seem like a contradiction, but what we're trying to say is that plants have different watering needs and soils (because of their differing compositions) respond to water differently.

The most common mistake in regard to water is not watering enough (in terms of frequency) and not watering long enough (in terms of volume). A small plant can dry out quickly, especially in warm weather. When first planted, it should be regularly monitored to observe its water needs. Also, you need to leave the water on long enough to saturate the entire root-ball of the plant (for some things, this might be longer than you think). Standing over the plant and giving it a quick shower with your hose will probably not be enough. Also, deeper watering encourages roots to go down, thus increasing the plant's drought tolerance.

On the other side of the coin is the gardener who is so dedicated that he/she waters constantly. This is not good either. Too much water (especially in heavy soils) can cause disease; eventually the roots of the plant will rot. So, strive for vigilance but not obsession when applying water to the garden.

But wait, there's more. Stay tuned for 5 More Mistakes Made by the New Gardener...

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