Lafayette County Master Gardeners: July Garden Calendar

Oxford, MS, June 28, 2024 – As we transition from June to July, the Lafayette County Master Gardeners have set forth their guidelines and tips for the month’s gardening plan. It provides comprehensive insights and details to ensure your garden and plants are well-cared for and productive.

Planning

Continuing your garden documentation is always essential. Consider capturing images of your garden throughout different seasons. This creates a vivid visual journey of your garden throughout the year. Also, remember to make a note of any plant diseases you notice so you can try and prevent them next year. For instance, the conditions for treating powdery mildew in clematis should be started in June if you notice this disease in July.

Planting

If you’re looking towards a Halloween harvest, it’s time to start planting pumpkin seeds. Larger varieties of pumpkins should be planted around July 2. Additionally, it’s a good idea to root cuttings from azaleas, boxwoods, camellias, and gardenias in a fine pine bark/coarse sand mix. These cuttings should be about 4–6 inches long and taken from new growth, with the lower leaves removed for better results.

For indoor greenery, it’s a good time to root cuttings for house plants such as ivies, wandering Jews, philodendrons, and begonias. July also provides the perfect conditions to sow seeds for late crops of beets, bush beans, carrots, chard, summer spinach, cucumbers, and summer squash.

Fertilizing

Be sure to halt fertilization of your camellias after July 1 to ensure they aren’t overfed. For chrysanthemums, fertilization should be done around July 15 with the flowers’ height cut in half. If it’s recommended, consider fertilizing your turf as well.

Pruning

Creating bushy growth in herbs like basil, mint, oregano, and savory can be achieved through pinching. All vegetables should be picked regularly to ensure they continue bearing, and remove faded flowers from crape myrtle to encourage a second blooming. Cut back mum height by half before July 15 and prune roses for more blooms.

Miscellaneous

Ensuring a consistent water supply to your plants is crucial, especially during hot weather. Supply all ornamentals with 1 inch of water weekly if it does not rain. Consider treating your turf with a post-emergent herbicide product to remove unwanted weeds and ensure your mower blades and garden tools are sharp for easier gardening.

The Lafayette County Master Gardeners offer home consultations for any garden questions or advice on trying new things in your garden. To schedule a visit, you can leave a message at the MSU Extension Office at 662-234-4451, and a home consultant specialist will contact you.

Home Accent

If you plan to leave your home closed for an extended vacation, ensure that your house plants are not left behind. Either water them and place them under a shade tree or ask someone to water them while you’re away.

The blooming list for July includes sourwoods and Pee Gee hydrangeas and various flowers such as cleomes, Four-o’clocks, impatiens, marigolds, periwinkles, plumbagos, portulaca, zinnias, butterfly weeds, cosmos, dahlias, daylilies, and many more.

The Takeaway

The July Garden Calendar provides holistic planning, planting, pruning, and fertilizing guide, promising well-nourished and thriving plants and vegetables in your gardens throughout July.