White County
 Gardening
Podcast
July 2, 2008
Summer Care of Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs (2:40 minutes)
Audio/Video Script:
Sherri Sanders
County Extension Agent - Agriculture
Hello this is Sherri Sanders with the Cooperative Extension Service in White
county. Arkansas summers make gardening difficult to maintain color and interest
in the landscape. Here are some tips to assist you:
Continue to dead head or remove dead flowers from your annuals to encourage
continued blooming. If your annuals have died off, pull them out and add them to
the compost pile. Replant that spot with hardy annuals or perennials, such as
Pansies. Get a second bloom from faded annuals by cutting them back by one half
their height, and then fertilize them with a liquid 5‑10‑10 fertilizer.
Roses will need to be fertilized each month through the summer. In colder
areas, allow shrub roses to ripen by discontinuing feeding them at the end of
the month. Fertilize container gardens regularly with a liquid all purpose plant
food. Chrysanthemums should be lightly fertilized every two weeks. Discontinue
pinching your mums in mid month so they will be able to develop flower buds for
the fall. To promote 'trophy size' flowers, allow only one or two main shoots to
develop. Remove all side buds as they begin to develop.
To produce the largest Dahlia flowers (especially 'Dinner plate' Dahlias),
the main stems should be kept free of side shoots, allowing only the main
terminal bud to develop. Be sure to provide adequate support to prevent wind
damage. Bearded Iris may be divided and replanted when they have finished
blooming. Discard all shriveled and diseased parts.
Sweet peas may tend to fizzle out with the hot summer weather, but with heavy
mulching to keep the roots cool and moist you can prolong the flowering season
by a few more weeks. A little mid‑day shade will also help to maintain the
quality of the flowers and prolong the blooming season.
Verbenas, Euonymus, Pachysandra, Ivy, and climbing roses are some of plants
that will root fairly quickly by layering them into the warm soil. Fasten a
section of the stem containing one or more "eyes" down onto cultivated soil with
a piece of wire and cover it with additional soil. By summer’s
end, the stem should be rooted sufficiently to sever it from the parent plant
and replant into another area of the garden.
Sow seeds of Hollyhocks, English daisies, Foxgloves, Violas, Canterbury
bells, and Sweet William into the garden now for next year's bloom. Geranium
cuttings may be made in late July to start plants for indoor bloom during the
winter months, and for setting into the garden next spring. You may need to
provide supplemental lighting with fluorescent grow lights for really good
winter blooms indoors.
For additional horticulture related information, contact your local Extension
Service. This has been Sherri Sanders in Searcy, Arkansas.
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