August Landscaping Tips and Information
General
- The days are becoming shorter, have you considered adding low voltage lighting to extend your outdoor fall usage.
- Plan your fall planting. Fall planting allows for more extensive root development prior to next summer’s drought.
- Weed beds as needed.
- Be mindful of the summer dangers while using outdoor fire pits and fireplaces.
- Continue to build your new compost pile, water the pile to keep it moist and locate it in the shade or cover it to hold the moisture.
Flower & Vegetable Gardens
- “Tip” or “Pinch” dead flowers once they have finished blooming.
- Keep beds mulched to retain moisture. Add grass clippings to gardens.
- Cut garden flowers to enjoy inside the home.
- Identify insects before “ blanket” application of pesticides, do not harm the beneficial insects such as our pollinators.
Tree & Shrub Beds
- Continue your comprehensive tree and shrub care program, or start one. If not doing it yourself, please use a licensed professional.
- Touch up mulch in your planting beds as needed to control weeds and retain moisture.
- Monitor for insect damage.
- Make sure plantings under larger plant material such as trees are getting the proper water and that their bigger neighbors are not absorbing the moisture.
Lawns
- Continue mowing at about 3” high as needed. “ Grasscycle”- leave the clippings for free fertilizer.
- Make sure that your mower blade is kept sharp.
- Water using best practices such as timing watering to limit evaporation and lawns remaining wet overnight. Early morning watering is best to reduce fungus issues such as Brown patch and Summer patch
- Evaluate lawn for fall renovation work. Fall is the time to seed.
Watering
- Monitor moisture levels at the plants roots, not on the surface.
- Water new plantings by hand as well as by an irrigation system.
- Water lawns, if no rain, in the amount of 1” per week.
- Water responsibly using best practices.
