Year-Round Advice to Keep Your Garden Beautiful

July

July is the time of year when mulching your flower beds can benefit you and your plants. Mulching holds moisture in the beds, keeps the soil cool in summer and retains heat in winter, helps keep the weeds out, and decomposes to enrich your soil. Another tool to utilize as you try to protect your plants from the summer sun is shade cloth. To cover veggies, we generally recommend 40% shade cloth, but there is also 60% shade cloth for plants needing more sun protection. Now is the time to ramp up on watering if you haven’t yet. Trifecta is a good way to strengthen your plants during heat stress. Texas summers are no joke! 

There are lots of native, heat tolerant plants that still do well if you need to add to your landscaping. As you pick a plant, consider where the plant will need to go & what the sun, wind, & water are like in this area of your property. 



July is also a month with a lot of insect activity. June bugs will be laying their eggs in yards that produce white grubs. Fleas, ticks, ants, and chinch bugs are also active at this time of the year. Introducing beneficial nematodes to your yard will help control grubs, fleas, and other ground insects for up to two years. Milky Spore is another effective way to control grubs for many years. 

Mark S. Ney, Certified Texas Nursery Professional #4749