To Do in the
GARDEN June •
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When irrigating new plantings, encourage developing roots to reach down into the soil with thorough waterings, not quick spritzes here and there. Plants with shallow root systems are more susceptible to stress during the hottest, driest times of the growing season. To bulk up for a bountiful harvest through the long summer haul, after veggies such as green beans, okra, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and eggplants begin to set their first crops, replenish their nutrient needs by side dressing with a common fertilizer such as 8-8-8 or 10-10-10.
July •
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If your home is adorned with tropical houseplants such as rubber tree, fiddle leaf fig, dracaena, or peace lily, be kind to these pretties and water them right. Instead of using chilly water straight from the faucet, fill a jug and let it warm to room temperature before giving your plants a drink. For best flavors and fragrances, harvest herbs early after the morning dew dries off of the foliage. This is when essential oils are more concentrated in their leaves.
Now is a good time to see the true bloom colors of such crape myrtle beauties as ‘Red Rocket.’
TIMELY TIP Crape myrtles can be purchased anytime during the year, but buying them in midsummer adds the advantage of seeing these beauties in bloom — and the true colors of their flowers. Plant tag images can fade, and they aren’t always accurate, so eyeballing the actual blossoms is the way to go. Any crapes planted during the scorch of the summer should be given wellprepared planting holes, plenty of mulch, and regular waterings. A good alternative is to simply temporarily tuck away your new crape cuties with their pots in a semi-shady spot, water them weekly, and wait until the fall, which is a prime planting time for woody ornamentals.
Naked ladies — deer resistant, by the way — flaunt best in sunny areas with organically rich, well-draining soil. If properly cared for, they will naturalize, producing offset bulbs in the process that can be transplanted to other parts of your landscape or given to fellow gardeners. If you are looking for instant gratification from these beauties, you’ll have to cool your jets for at least the first year they are in the garden. Naked ladies do resent being disturbed — meaning dug up and replanted — and they usually show it by sulking during their first bloom period, producing few, if any, blossoms. After a year of settling in, however, these sassy sensations will ramp up a flower show that will only get better in the years to come. t L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener Magazine.
CARY MAGAZINE 101
