Gardening This Weekend: August 11, 2016

 

• Crape myrtles won’t be in full bloom in nurseries much longer. Buy now to ensure you’re getting the colors you want.
• New lawns as soon as possible to give grass time to become well established before winter.
• Fall vegetables. Finish planting beans, squash, cucumbers and corn very soon. It’s time to plant broccoli, cabbage and other cole crops. See story this issue.
• Fall annuals. Marigolds, zinnias and celosias from 4-inch pots. Buy plants that are just showing color, not those in full bloom. The blooming specimens tend to stall after planting.

 

• Shrubs as needed to correct errant growth, but avoid formal pruning whenever possible.
• Mow lawn at recommended height. Mowing it higher will weaken the grass and allow weeds to get started.
• Reshape overgrown patio pots to encourage a nice burst of regrowth this fall.

 

• Patio pots and hanging baskets to replenish nutrients that have leached out of the potting soil with frequent irrigation.
• Iron-deficient plants in alkaline soil to correct iron chlorosis (yellow leaves with dark green veins, most prominent on newest growth). Use iron/sulfur soil amendment, and keep the granules off walks and drives to prevent staining.

 

• Nutsedge (“nutgrass”). This is just about last call to treat. The product Image does a good job of lessening the outbreak each time that you apply. But you must make two treatments 30 days apart, and both must fall between May 15 and September 15. That means August 15 is your cutoff date to begin. (Note: that date would be later by a week or two in the southern half of Texas.) Sedgehammer is an alternate option, and it only requires one application.
• Webworms in pecans, mulberries and others. You can spray with almost any general-purpose insecticide, but include one drop of liquid dishwashing detergent to get the spray into the webs. I prefer to remove them by hand using a long-handled pole pruner.