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Walking around the garden this week, I've noticed that the perennial and annual flowers need some mid-summer tweaking and boosting. The mature perennials and annuals set seeds and produce some brown leaves. Sneaky weeds move into the centers of plants. Three-foot daisies topple over on the asters. Now that the weather has cooled a bit, working in the flower garden offers distinct pleasure on a long evening.
In my garden, I'll start by getting the stakes and twine for plants I didn't tie up earlier. My garden has a patch of clumping bamboo that's more valuable as a source of good, unobtrusive plant stakes than it is as a visual treat. With a handful of stakes and some green twine, I'll untangle and tie up some of the wobbly plants. Gooseneck loosestrife, a graceful late-bloomer with curved white flowers, frequently falls flat as it grows. (This plant, Lysimachia clethroides, isn't related to the troublesome purple loosestrife that's classified as a noxious weed in Washington state. That one is Lythrum salicaria, and it's invading and crowding out wetland natives and reducing plants necessary for water fowl food.)
Staking plants and removing old flowers will help prolong the beauty of the summer garden. After staking, patrol for the weed invaders that have been hiding near the centers of overgrown plants. The weeds often carry similar leaf structures to the perennials, and we miss pulling them until flowers emerge. Check for weeds carefully! Untangle morning glory by cutting it off at the root and allowing it to die back, so the plants are easier to peel off bushes and out of gardens. To manage the common morning glory after cutting it back, treat the regrowth that will appear in August and September with glyphosate, the herbicide sold as Roundup and under other brand names. September is a great month to paint glyphosate on the leaves of morning glory, because the chemical will descend to the roots along with carbohydrates the plant is storing for winter. Obviously, cutting it down in August is necessary, because glyphosate can't be applied to morning glory or any other perennial weed if the weed is draped all over, or growing through, a cherished plant such as a peony or clump of iris.
Flowers that bloom throughout August and September, such as asters, dahlias, chrysanthemums, and helenium, often get rangy and fall over while gathering height for bloom. Be sure these are staked now for the best fall color effects. After staking and weeding, do some selective pruning. Remove all seed heads from perennial flowers unless you're saving the seed for bird food or for planting. Cut back Shasta daisies and delphinium, removing the bloomed-out stalks. (If trimmed early enough, delphinium will often produce a late bloom in October before frost.) Cut off dead stems of day lilies (Hemerocallis sp.) Foliage of day lilies should remain until frost, though the garden can be neatened by pulling out obviously dead strands of old leaves. Cut back German iris leaves (Iris germanica). Trim off hosta leaves that have been perforated by slugs.
Do not cut off true lilies, plants in the Lilium genus. Lilies, such as the popular scented Orientals and brilliantly-colored Asiatics, are like spring-blooming daffodils: they must have as much leaf surface remaining as possible to build strength in the bulb for the following year's flowers. Before removing it, allow the true lily foliage to brown and die back naturally, which may happen as late as October.
Check under leaves for slug hotels in shade. Sunny August days definitely drive our favorite garden pest into hiding. This month, slugs lay eggs, as they also do in September. Slugs are hermaphroditic, meaning they are all both male and female and can mate with any slug they encounter. This odd characteristic makes the egg production quite prolific: they can ALL produce eggs. Lay traps this month, hopefully thus preventing some of next year's eggs from being tucked in for winter.
One simple trap is two shingles leaning against each other in a shady place over dampened ground. Slugs will seek this shelter on hot days. Or find two clay flower pots that are about 1 inch different in size. Wet them thoroughly, and put the smaller inside. Lay them on their sides in shade, propping the edge up a bit with a rock underneath the larger pot. Slugs will crawl into the trap for shelter. Check pots in early evening, and ...well, you know what to do.
Staking, pruning, deadheading and weeding will all benefit the flower garden. Check to see that soaker hoses are well placed (in my garden August is sometimes the month of duct tape while I mend small holes in the leaky hose pipe.) Sprinkle a bit of fertilizer under fall-bloomers like dahlias, and water thoroughly. To finish off the flower garden, spread new mulch or compost anyplace it's broken down or been scuffed away.
Flowers continue to bloom in the maritime Northwest until Thanksgiving or beyond, depending on frost and storm time. Work now will help the garden look its best for the wonderful weeks in September and early October when the garden and its blooms thrive and look golden in late light.
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
