July:Grass:· It’s time to plant Bermuda grass if you haven’t all ready.
· Fertilize Bermuda grass lawns with 1/2 pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
· Apply iron to your lawn once per month.
If it's time to dethatch, do it anytime between May and August. Dethatch every two or three years to revitalize your lawn.
Trees/Shrubs: Pick early-maturing fruit that’s particularly prone to bird damage. It’s okay to pick it before full maturity. Allow the fruit to ripen at room temperature inside your home.
· Prune palms when flower spathes show or delay pruning until after the palm has finished flowering to prevent infestation of Palm Flower caterpillars. If palms are pruned in the spring, leave the top five rows of peels so the caterpillars have a place to hide.
· Cut off dead blooms to stimulate new blooms.
· July is a good time to plant desert shrubs and trees such as red bird of paradise, fairy duster, and Texas ranger. Shrubs and vines such as bougainvillea can also be planted. These plants do well during our summer months. Be sure to water all new plantings for at least two weeks before you cut back.
· Bougainvillea will produce more blooms if you reduce the water. They are drought-tolerant. Less water means more blooms.
· Apply mulch to the ground around heat sensitive plants to keep the roots cooler. This also prevents evaporation.
· Apply chelated iron to bottlebrush, pyracantha, silk oak, and other plants with iron deficiency symptoms.
· Heat tolerant plants can be planted anytime during the summer. Keep in mind that they will need to be watered on a regular basis until fall.
· Transplant palms in the heat of the summer for best results.
· Protect newly transplanted trees and young trees from heavy winds and dust storms by staking.
· Water mature trees deeply about every two weeks, every week for younger trees.
Flowers: · Cut back on fertilizing established roses to encourage plants to relax during the hot summer.
· Water your roses deeply as temperatures rise. Fertilize roses at half rate every six-weeks during the summer. Water deeply both before and after fertilizing to prevent fertilizer burn damage.
· Hose off roses in the early morning to increase humidity and control spider mites.
· Flowers for summer color include: celosia, coreopsis, cosmos, gazanias, globe amaranth, portulaca, zinnia, salvia, vinca (periwinkle), gomphorena and verbena.
· Flowerbeds will need irrigation every other day through the summer.
· Use ammonium phosphate in flowerbeds to increase and keep flowers blooming.
· Stake taller flowers to prevent damage from monsoon winds.
· Nurseries still have summer flowers, but you will have to water them every day in the morning for about two-weeks before you can reduce watering to every other day.
Vegetables: · Tomatoes don't do well when it's over 90°F. Nurse the plants through the summer while providing shade and they’ll begin producing again in the fall. Alternatively, pull them out and plant new ones in the late summer for fall production.
· Plant seeds for beans (pinto and snap), corn, Armenian cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, winter squash, sunflowers
· Plant transplants: peppers, tomatoes.
· Keep plants moist. If you notice wilted leaves in the morning, it’s a sign of moisture stress. If you notice wilting in the later afternoon, it may be a result of heat stress.
· Shade tomatoes, squash, peppers and cucumbers to reduce the heat and help them survive a little longer. Placing mulch on top of the soil also cools the vegetables and helps retain moisture.
· Use sunscreens that offer no more than 50% sun reduction.
· As your melons come in, place a board beneath them. This will keep them off the moist soil and prevent insect attacks.
· Solarize vegetables plots. Water the area to be solarized deeply and slowly, and then cover with a clear plastic, anchoring the edges to contain the moisture. Don't use black plastic. Leave them alone for four weeks. The heat beneath the plastic will be intense, upward 140-150 degrees, cooking many of your gardening problems and weed seeds.
Your Desert Garden - Monthly Don't List for July:1. Don't prune citrus or other sun sensitive plants during the summer. Extra leafage creates shade for the plants.
2. Don't over water. Water slowly, deeply and infrequently. Let the soil dry between watering.
3. Don't shade corn, squash or melons.
4. Don't add fertilizer to dry soil. Always water first, then apply fertilizers to moist soils, and then continue with the rest of the water.
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