Check out the following July gardening tips!

• Remove faded flowers from perennials after they finish blooming. Deadheading redirects energy towards healthy roots.
• Maintain a 3 to 4 inch mulch layer around trees and shrubs to protect them from mower and weed whacker damage.
• Check plants regularly for insect problems; hand pick or use suitable control measures if found.
• Fertilize warm-season grasses.
• Plant butterfly nectar and larval food plants such as asclepias, buddleia, and passion flower.
• Replace spent annuals with heat-tolerant lantana, verbena, pentas, and hibiscus,
• Consider drip irrigation and/or soaker hoses as efficient watering alternatives.
• Harvest raspberries and blackberries daily to avoid attracting insects to overripe fruit.
• Prune water sprouts from apple trees.
• Water flowerbeds and water flower beds and gardens deeply. This encourages a deep root system.
• Start basil seedlings for a fall herb garden.
• Mow warm-season grasses at a height of 2.5 to 3 inches; apply at least an inch of water a week.
• Prevent rose diseases with a fungicide spray program.
• For longest vase life, harvest cut flowers just as they begin to open and condition them in floral preservative.
• Fertilize container plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer solution for best bloom.
• Keep annuals in bloom by removing faded flowers.
• Bats help control mosquitoes; attract these friendly mammals with bat houses.
• Help trees survive the heat by mulching heavily over the root system–avoid mulch too close to the trunk.
• Save space in the garden with trellises, fences, and stakes-harvest is easier too.
• Be sure to log in to BackyardGardener.com for everything concerning your flower and vegetable gardening!

Written by: BackyardGardener.com