Summer Garden Maintenance Tips

The summer season is approaching and as all of us garden lovers know, this could mean stress for your plants. Some heat-resistant plants enjoy the heat, though. Regardless, it’s good to know what will ultimately help your garden flourish during the hottest part of the year. Read on for a list of summer garden maintenance tips.

1. Deadhead and Prune

First, there’s a difference between deadheading and pruning. When you deadhead a plant, you’re removing dead leaves or blossoms. Pruning, on the other hand, means you’re removing any part of the plant to make it smaller in some way. 

Deadheading before summertime allows your plants to keep producing. It tricks the plant into thinking it needs to produce more.

Pruning established plants at this time, like fruit trees for example, allows them to also produce more. Additionally, pruning reduces shade and increases air circulation to help your plants grow. 

Pruning helps with slow growth, disease or insect resistance and it restores the shape and structure of trees and shrubs.

2. Keep Soil Moist but Don’t Overwater

The summer season is probably one of the most important times to keep your garden hydrated. A mistake many gardeners make, however, is overwatering plants. Overwatering plants increases the likelihood of disease outbreaks. Fungi thrive in warm, moist areas so if you’ve overwatered your garden, you may have just given fungi a home. 

A good soak every 3–4 days in the morning will help plant roots dig deeper into the soil where they will be cooler. Even if you see damage on the plant above ground, the roots below ground may have a better chance of surviving the heat of summer.

Most importantly, keep an eye on any wilting plant—especially those located in direct sunlight. Check the soil around the plant to see if it’s damp or dry. If it’s dry, go ahead and water those specific plants again.

3. Fertilize

Fertilization is an important part of summer garden care. It provides your garden with nutrients to withstand the summer heat and continue flourishing. 

We recommend a balanced 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 type of fertilizer like Lawnifi Grow. Lawnifi is a liquid fertilizer that nano-sizes nutrients for maximum uptake.

Grow helps quickly establish roots via highly available phosphorus, potassium and carbon. Grow benefits rooting, plant strength and soil quality. Apply Grow to soil and plants at the time of installation with a follow-up application two weeks later for best results.

Each bottle of Lawnifi easily hooks right up to the end of your garden hose for an even spray application.

4. Keep an Eye Out for Pesky Insects

As temperatures climb, more and more insects start coming out. Depending on where you live, you may experience a really “buggy” summer. Believe it or not, there are many insects and bugs that can harm your garden. You may be familiar with some of the ones listed below:

• Aphids
• Caterpillars
• Japanese beetles
• Spittlebugs
• Fire ants
• Cutworms
• Scales
• Spider mites
• Squash bug

Despite the long list of harmful garden insects, there are good ones to keep an eye out for. Some of these include honeybees, earwigs or paper wasps.

5. Prevent Weeds

It’s typically not a good idea to apply any weed control products during the summer. Due to high temperatures, weed control can sometimes burn or damage desired plants when applied. If you’ve noticed weeds sprouting, make a mental note to apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring next year to prevent weeds from popping up.

Next, a solution could be to hand pull the weeds or spot-treat them. If temperatures are consistently below 85 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s generally safe to apply post-emergent herbicides for any summer annual and perennial weeds. 

However, we suggest waiting until it gets closer to the fall season. If temperatures are low one day and exceed 85 degrees in the following days, the grass is still vulnerable to damage from the herbicide.

A last, effective solution is to prevent any future weeds from surfacing by adding mulch to gardens. This makes it hard for unwanted weeds to access sunlight or to grow through the layer of mulch.

6. Add Temporary Shade

Creating shady areas to place potted plants in or to cover your garden is extremely beneficial as it keeps plants from getting too heat stressed. Here are a few ideas:

• Plant other plants like sunflowers to help block the sun. Sunflowers love full sun, so they will thrive in this environment.
• Use a shade cloth to cover the area of plants that need shade.
• Use umbrellas to create shade.

7. Transplant Now

Before the onset of summer heat, it’s highly recommended to do any necessary transplanting now. Transplanting during the summer is actually more stressful for plants. The summer heat can be intense. Plants are already transpiring moisture at this time, so transplanting is stressful.

Transplant now before temperatures get too warm so that the plants have time to establish roots in their new environments. 

8. Add Summer and Fall Plants

Certain vegetables grow well in the spring but not always as well during the summer and fall. Remove any spring crops and start adding fall crops in the late summer. The same can be said for spring and fall ornamentals. Zinnias and marigolds are a few flowers that perform well in the summer and fall months while vegetables like tomatoes and peppers will also continue to grow.

Now that you have an idea of some things you can do to help your garden during the summer season, it’ll be more than ready to tackle the highest temperatures of the year. Happy gardening!