August Garden tips

• Are you irises not perfoming so great, it could be that they need to be divided and now is the time for that.
• Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to begin to control cool season weeds. (Mike is a licensed applicator)
• Lightly fertilize your knock out roses and fall blooming roses to help them prepare for this fall.
• Prune deciduous shrubs again near the beginning of the month, if needed.
• Hollies should be mulched and watered well during the hot weather to prevent them from losing their berries before maturing.
• Watch for aphids, spider mites, thrips and white flies as they are at their worst during hot, humid weather. Spray accordingly.
• Try making your own insecticidal soap with a recipe of one gallon water, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp dish detergent, and 2 tsp white vinegar. Spray the pest treatment under the leaves of your plants where the white fly eggs, scale and adults reside. This can be time consuming as the bugs will die only when they come in direct contact with the spray. Each leaf needs to be sprayed. You must be diligent and apply the spray every 3 to 5 days to maintain control over the white files. Use soaps when plants are not drought-stressed and when temperatures are under 80°F to prevent possible damage to plants. Test the insecticidal soap first on your plants to make sure it will not burn the leaves. Spray the soap on a few leaves and wait two days to see if there is any burning. If burning occurs, try diluting the spray with more water and test again.