General Tips
- Use soaker hoses and a water timer to irrigate annuals, perennials and shrubs. The hose conserves water and the timer makes it easy. Most hoses apply 1 gallon per foot per minute.
- Keep your lawnmower blade sharp. A ragged cut makes grass use more water.
- Big green caterpillars on parsley and fennel are the precursors to beautiful swallowtail butterflies. Try not to kill them if you can help it.
- Choosing a watermelon for the Fourth? Slap it to determine ripeness. Good ones sound hollow; unripe ones sound like you're hitting solid wood.
- Support tall flower stems prone to flop over after a rain. Use a thin stick or a length of bamboo and some jute twine to tie the plant upright.
- Estimated First Frost Date for Zone 7 is between October 15th – November 15th
Pruning Shrubs and Trees
- PRUNE THESE IN SUMMER
Trees, shrubs and perennials that bloom in spring on old wood — on which buds were set the previous summer — should be pruned in summer after they have bloomed. They include:
Azalea; Bradford pear, Bridal wreath spirea, Clematis, Climbing roses, Crab apple, Dogwood, Flowering almond, Flowering cherry, Flowering quince, Forsythia, Japanese kerria, Japanese pieris, Pyracantha, Redbud, Shrub honeysuckle, Saucer magnolia, Star magnolia, Viburnum, Winter daphne, Wisteria
- PRUNE THESE IN WINTER/SPRING
Typically, trees, shrubs and perennials that bloom in summer on new growth should be pruned in late January through March before that growth appears. They include:
Abelia, Barberry, Beautyberry, Butterfly bush, Crape myrtle, Floribunda roses, Goldenrain tree, Grandiflora roses, Hydrangeas [see note], Japanese spirea, Lantana, Mimosa, Miscanthus grass, Nandina, Rose of Sharon, Russian sage, Salvia, Sourwood, Sweetshrub, Tea olive, Vitex
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