Your Native Garden Calendars - July 2024

By Dan Weintritt and Friends

Adapted from Month-by-Month Gardening in Louisiana by Dan Gill

Your time should be shifting from doing to observing. Insect activity should be a joy for the native gardener. Go find a patch of mountain mint and see if you can count the dozens of species of pollinators hungrily buzzing around its flowers. 

• Observe which spots in the garden are not thriving, weeds are taking over, there is not a lot blooming, etc. Think of plants that are thriving in other parts of the yard. Make a plan to propagate and move more of these summer performers into other areas.

• Plants that are suffering badly, especially from pests such as bugs or fungus, might best be removed completely, before their problem starts to spread to others.

• Weeds that were not eradicated earlier are at their height of vigor (bermudagrass and such), and may not be able to be pulled by hand. Glyphosate, when used properly, is perfectly safe to use in spot treatments to stop a rampant invasive from wrecking your garden. It works best on hot, sunny days, so now's a great time to kill an unwanted visitor with a single application.

• Those that did not trim back their ironweed or goldenrod in June can do so now. Trimming later in July will allow for plants that bloom on 4' tall stalks in fall. This is not necessary for those with very large and mature gardens, or open prairie, but trimming keeps the neighbors happy if you live in a neighborhood.

• Seed continues to be ready for harvest on early summer bloomers. Typically, seedpods are ready to harvest when they are just dry and papery, 4-8 weeks after bloom. Label seeds in envelopes, and include botanical name of plant, location seed was harvested, date of harvest, and location the plant was originally sourced. Consult a gardening book or a reliable internet source on how to store. Every species is different.

• Spring blooming has ceased and fall blooming is still six weeks away. Consider the few wonderful summer bloomers (native Hibiscus, Salvia, Canna, Milkweed), and consider adding more. Also, think of how plants with interesting form and texture (palmetto, grasses, yucca, Opuntia, Manfreda, wonderful strappy bulbs like spider lily) can liven up the sea of green in summer.

• Heavy rains from hurricanes or other storms can be a problem at this time of year. Make sure your landscaping is not interfering with structural drainage for your street. Look out for washouts of dirt and use mulch after storms. This will mostly be a problem in new beds. Be sure to replace lost compost and mulch around rootballs. The next scorching, sunny day is not far away, and tender new roots will not be happy if they're exposed.

• If extended droughts are experienced, newly planted trees and shrubs should receive additional water. They will not give signs of stress until it is too late, unlike herbaceous plants which can wilt and recover. Run a soaker hose or a garden hose at a trickle around the rootball for 20-45 minutes once a week.

• Summer is a great time to develop a landscape plan that can be implemented in the coming fall and winter, the best planting seasons. Develop your own landscape plan or hire someone to create a plan compatible with your vision of a native plant paradise.