August Garden Checklist: Essential Late-Summer Tasks

Remove suckers from grafted trees/shrubs (roses, fruit trees). Cut close to trunk/root with sharp shears.
Prune hedges wider at base, slanted inward at top. Electric/hand shears for fine/medium leaves; pruners for large leaves. Trim 3×/year when new growth reaches 6 in.
Protect saplings from string trimmer damage: slit a length of flexible black plastic pipe, slip around trunk. Expands with growth; remove once canopy shades out weeds.
Deadhead annuals to encourage rebloom. If heat stalls flowering, cut back by half, keep watering/fertilizing—they'll rebound when cooler.
Harvest flowers for drying: Cut everlastings (baby's breath, globe amaranth, immortelles, statice, strawflowers) just before full open. Strip leaves, bundle with rubber bands, hang upside down in cool, dark place.
Water wisely: Most plants die from overwatering. Check soil first. Water early morning; deep but not deeper than root zone. Adjust sprinklers off pavement. Soaker hoses for rows.
Build soil with compost: Do: coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit/plant trimmings, crushed eggshells. Don't: bones, dairy, fish, grains, grease, meat, pet waste, seeded weeds, diseased plants, treated wood sawdust. Keep moist, turn periodically.
Add late-summer color: Perennials peaking now: aster, cape fuchsia, chrysanthemum, coreopsis, daylily, gaillardia, gaura, Japanese anemone, lavatera, Nemesia fruticans, rudbeckia, Russian sage, salvia, summer phlox. Check climate adaptation before buying.

About Garden: Drosera × 'Marston Dragon' Flowering Twice in One Season: Normal or Resource-Driven?; Why New Flower Beds Take Time to Establish: Patience and Proper Care; Keep Cut Flowers Fresh Longer: 7 Proven Tips; Keep Cut Flowers Fresh Longer: 4 Pro Florist Secrets; Make Cut Flowers Last: 7 Florist-Proven Techniques; Keep Cut Flowers Fresh Longer: Pro Tips for Long-Lasting Bouquets; Proper Lawn Watering Techniques for Deep Roots and Healthy Grass; Oxygenating and Marginal Plants for Garden Ponds; Your November Garden Checklist: Regional Tasks for Late Fall; Rocky Mountain Gardening: New Plants, Perennial Stars & Wildlife Tips

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