Tips for your yard in July ☀️
- Akin's
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Summer is in full swing – its hot! humid! and often dry!
Keeping your landscape healthy now sets you up for success into fall. Here is a quick list of things to consider.
🌿 Lawn Care
Water deeply, not frequently: Aim for 1–1.5 inches of water per week (including rainfall). Water early in the morning to prevent disease.
Raise your mower blade: Taller grass (especially Bermuda, Zoysia, or St. Augustine) shades the roots and helps conserve moisture.
Watch for pests: Chinch bugs and armyworms can show up now—look for brown patches that spread quickly. Symptoms are irregular patches of dead grass surrounded by yellowing grass. Treat with Hi-Yield Bug Blaster.
Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers but don’t neglect the grass: If you fertilize, use a balanced slow-release product. We recommend Fertilome Lawn Food Plus Iron. It is formulated to help keep your yard green in the hot summer months.
🌸 Flower Beds & Containers
Deadhead spent blooms: This keeps annuals and perennials blooming longer.
Deadhead roses and continue a spray program to prevent blackspot and powdery mildew. We recommend Fertilome Systemic Fungicide or Rose Shield.
Mulch: A 2–3 inch layer helps retain soil moisture and keep roots cool.
Water pots daily: Container plants dry out fast in the heat—check them every morning.
🥬 Vegetable Garden
Harvest regularly: Pick tomatoes, squash, and beans often to encourage more production.
Start seeds for fall crops: Late July is time to seed broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts indoors.
Watch for squash bugs and stink bugs: Hand-pick or spray with neem oil or insecticidal soap.
Apply Natural Guard Slug and Snail Bait if damage from snails and slugs occurs
Plant pumpkin seeds by mid-July for Halloween harvest.
🌳 Trees & Shrubs
Check for signs of stress: Wilting, scorched leaves, or early leaf drop can mean drought stress. Water deeply once a week if needed.
Prune lightly: Only to remove dead or damaged limbs. Avoid heavy pruning in the heat. Remove suckers that sprout at the base of trees, such as crape myrtles, vitex and yaupon holly. Don’t leave stubs.
Spray trees affected by scale insects, such as crape myrtles, with Hi-Yield Systemic Insect Spray. Apply early or late, not in the heat of the day.
Treat white flies and the accompanying sooty mold on gardenias and other blooming shrubs with an application of Fertilome Systemic Insect Spray. Apply early or late, not in the heat of the day.
🐦 Wildlife & Pollinators
Keep birdbaths clean and full: Birds and pollinators rely on them during heat waves.
Plant for pollinators: Zinnias, coneflowers, and black-eyed Susans are thriving now and attract bees and butterflies.
Bonus: Weed Control
Hand-pull or spot-treat with selective herbicide: Weeds grow fast now. Stay on top of them to prevent seeding. Seek our advice in store for selecting the right herbicide.
Crabgrass in St Augustine will have to be hand pulled and fought next year. The time to stop crabgrass is January and February. Make a note and let’s get on top of it next year. It takes dedication to eradicate crabgrass - it can be done… but you have to prevent it before it starts.