July Garden Guide: Planting Heat-Lovers, Pruning Tomatoes, and Protecting Grapes

Plant

Sow chiltepin pepper seeds early month—tiny, fiery Southwestern natives great for cooking and loved by birds (Gurney's Seed & Nursery: gurneys.com).

Try Guadalupe palm (Brahea edulis) for a striking medium landscape palm with unique marked trunk; loves desert heat.

At monsoon onset, sow Native American popcorn like red/brown 'Cochiti'.

For late-summer blooms, set out rain lilies in low desert before monsoon. Zephyranthes carinata (often sold as Z. grandiflora) has extra-large pink flowers.

High summer (avg >80°F) is best for laying warm-season sod like Bermuda. Good low-desert varieties: 'BobSod', 'E-Z Turf Midiron', 'Santa Ana', 'Tifway 419'.

For free-blooming summer shrub, consider yellow bells cultivars: Tecoma stans 'Gold Star' and 'Sunrise'.

Maintain

• Feed grapes and palms with all-purpose fertilizer.
• Give houseplants a summer vacation outdoors under covered patios/shade (dracaena, Sansevieria, ficus).
• Prune tomatoes back by two-thirds to encourage new growth and fall fruit set.
• Late month: harvest prickly pear fruit with tongs; twist off when ripe.

Protect

• Use systemic insecticide to prevent fatal agave weevil infestations.
• Protect ripening grapes: slip knee-high nylon stockings over clusters, fasten with twist ties. Allows air and sunlight penetration.