JULY/AUGUST 1986
445-1552
The CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE —Garden Topics & Events Newsletter
by Anne Marie Van Nest JULY AND AUGUST July is the month to sit back enjoy all the hard work of May June. The annuals have taken hold and are flowering profusely, thanks to the June rains and bright hot sunshine. All plants will be glad to receive some
fertilizer during this period of high growth., Phostrogen is a very good all round fertilizer for this purpose and is suitable for everything from Amaranth to Zucchini. Flowering shrubs and perennials will benefit from a fertilization after they have set buds, to produce bigger and more numerous flowers. Heavy feeders such as tomatoes and cucumbers should be fed every two weeks when the fruits are forming at full strength. Garden fertilization should be done after the soil has been well watered to reduce the danger of root burn and when the forecast is for rain free days. Hanging baskets and houseplants set outside in the garden in their pots should also be given special fertilizations because of the small root area.
The after effect of the garden’s profusion of blooms is the sad fading of the flowers and the task of deadheading. This must be done regularly and consistantly to ensure that the plants continue their merry flowering and don’t do what comes naturally — produce seeds. Every plant in your garden from the lilacs to the petunias and geraniums will be much healthier
in the future and continue flowering
(if this is its nature) with the removal of spent flowers. Diseases will be reduced by eliminating the decaying petals, vital energy will not be wasted in seed production (unless you are planning to save the seed for The Civic
Garden Centre’s Seed Exchange) and the plants, especially the annuals, will continue with several more flushes of bloom. Staking is another mid-summer task as some of the weak stemmed perennials and annuals will topple over with a strong rain or wind. The best material
for staking is a natural winter pruning from your shrubs or trees. This inexpensive stake should be well branched and come to a height just
below the top of the floppy plant. When the task is completed the stake is almost invisible. If a commercial stake is used, place it to the back of the plant out of sight and tie the plant
with a flexible garden twine so that ‘the plant is secure but not held rigidly in place.
Spring and early summer flowering shrubs should be pruned to keep their growth in bounds. A very good example is the forsythia, which should be cut back drastically in the early summer or it will grow to 5 - 6 ft.
(2 m.).
While you are pruning, don’t
forget to cut back your annuals such