August 18, 2014

5 Perennial Garden Tips for Late Summer

Discouraged by the toll the heat is most likely taking on your late-summer flower garden?  Don’t despair;  August is actually a great time to spruce up your perennial garden!  Here are 5 tips to help you do it:

1.  Buy perennials now.  This is a great time to get excellent deals on perennials at your local home improvement or garden store.  It is also a good time to pick up late-summer and autumn bloomers to fill in the “holes” in your garden where the blooming season has already passed.  Go ahead and stock up!

2.  Replace and  Divide.  Make room for your new perennials by removing older or diseased plants.  Divide plants that have grown too large.  Prepare the soil for the new plants.

3.  Plant on a cooler day.  Take advantage of a day that is slightly cooler and more overcast than sunny to get your plants in the ground.  This will encourage their ultimate health.

4.  Think water, NOT fertilizer.  Surprisingly, you don’t necessarily want to fertilize your perennial garden bed in late summer.   Fertilizer can damage roots that have become dryer.  Instead, make sure that you water deep and regularly to keep your plants hydrated.  It’s a good idea to also add mulch to the garden at this time.

5.  Get rid of weeds.  This may seem obvious, but you should be extra vigilant about weeding your perennial garden now, as you don’t want weeds competing with your perennials for water and nutrients.  If you really stay on top of the weeding, you will definitely notice that your garden looks much healthier!

With these few simple steps, you can not only enjoy your perennial garden for the rest of this season, but get a head start on making sure next season’s perennial garden is beautiful as well!

by See Jane Drill