Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

This July there is a lot to celebrate as the growing season really gets underway. Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for July. Events include Brookside Garden’s Wings of Fancy,  History in the Park events at the Agricultural History Farm Park, 28th Annual Farm Tour and Harvest Sale, Canning & Preserving Made Easy Class, and more!

Planning:

• Begin planning for fall plantings.
• Order spring-flowering bulbs to arrive for planting this fall.
• Check your local garden center for mid-summer bargains.
• Check out gardening books from your local library to read on vacation.
• Sunflower season is coming soon. Visit McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area off River Road in Montgomery County to see them. The best weekend to plan ahead to visit would be July 22-23.
• Support our local farmers! Visit a local farmers’ market near you. Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture Farmer’s Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you. Or visit the main Montgomery County Farmers Market website. Don’t miss the 28th Annual Farm Tour and Harvest Sale on July 22-23!
• Go on a local house or garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other’s area home gardens: http://www.visitmaryland.org/list/gardens-Maryland

Flowers and Groundcovers:

• Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming.
• Introduction of native plant varieties for gardening is a long, careful process. | Mt. Cuba Center
• Don’t fertilize plants that slow down in the heat, but keep them watered. Fertilize lightly plants that are blooming heavily.
• Pinch back mums so they grow bushier and won’t flower until autumn.
• Water thoroughly, especially if you receive no rain for more than seven days.
• Check on your container plants daily and keep them well-watered.
• Inspect your garden for powdery mildew. If seen, prune back perennials to create needed circulation.
• Pests to watch for: aphids, spidermites, whiteflies
• Diseases to watch for:  Blackspot on roses; powdery mildew, rust, bacterial diseases.
• See UMD’s HGIC’s July Flower tips for more details.

Trees and Shrubs:

• Prune foundation shrubs and trees to be no closer than 1 foot from the house.
• Prune and thin shrubs that have already flowered.
• Water slowly and deeply if summer is very dry.
• Directly after blooming, prune flowering shrubs and vines.
• Water newly planted trees and shrubs weekly or as needed.
• Pests to watch for:  adelgids, aphids, azalea lacebug, bagworms, borers, caterpillars, gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, leafminers, scale, sawfly, spidermites, and webworms.
• Diseases to watch for: powdery mildew
• See HGIC’s July Trees and Shrubs Tips for more details.

• Water established lawns deeply but infrequently.
• Mow in the early evening and cut off no more than one-third of the grass height at one time. Leave clippings on the ground to provide nutrients.
• Apply pre-emergent weed control such as corn gluten.
• Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out. Work compost into your planting beds.
• Diseases to watch for: brown patch, and red thread
• Pests to watch for: Grubs
• See HGIC’s July Lawn Tips for more details.

Indoors/Houseplants:

• Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
• Monitor houseplants that are outside for insect problems.
• Fertilize houseplants now that they are actively growing again.
• Repot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them.
• Pests to watch for:  aphids, mealybug, spider mites,  whitefly and scale.
• See HGIC’s July Houseplants Tips for more tips.
  

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips:

• Change the water of your birdbath daily and throw a Mosquito Dunk (or bits) into any standing water.
• Caulk and seal your outside walls to prevent insect entry into your home.
• Hand-pick Japanese Beetles or shake them off over a bucket of dishwater. Early morning is a good time to catch them, while they are still drowsy.
• Be vigilant for mosquito breeding spots—any standing water from a bottle cap to blocked gutters and clean them up immediately.
• Put out slug traps around your vulnerable edibles and hostas.
• See HGIC’s July Insect Tips for more details.
• Watch for: carpenter ants, flies, stink bugs, termites, rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, moles, snakes, squirrels, and voles.
• For more information on wildlife management and attracting wildlife see HGIC’s July Wildlife tips.

Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.

See below for upcoming local events in July.

Hello Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Gardeners,

It’s summer and this June there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors!  Here are some garden tips, educational opportunities, and events for June. Events include Brookside Garden’s Wings of Fancy, Sandy Spring Museum’s Strawberry Festival, Brookside Garden’s Twilight Concert Series, lots of events at the Agricultural History Farm Park, Field & Fiddle 2017, Heritage Days, and more!

Planning:

• Check out plants going on sale.
• Peruse fall bulb catalogs.
• Order spring-flowering bulbs to arrive for planting this fall.
• Plan who is going to water plants during your vacation.
• Plan where fall bulbs will go.
• Take photos and update your garden  journal.
• Inspect your garden hose for leaks and tighten all connections.
• As the heat and humidity move in, take it easy by working in the morning or early evening to avoid intense sun and humidity. Leave the big projects for this fall. For now, concentrate on maintaining the beds you’ve already established and nurturing your new plantings.
• Support our local farmers! Visit a local farmers’ market near you. Download Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture Farmer’s Market Flyer to find a farmer’s market near you. Or visit the main Montgomery County Farmers Market website.
• Go on a local house or garden tour to see what plants are thriving in other’s area home gardens: http://www.visitmaryland.org/list/gardens-Maryland

Flowers and Groundcovers:

• Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming.
• Remove spent lilac and rhododendron blossoms.
• Direct-sow annual flower seeds.
• Water transplants deeply when dry.
• Pinch buds of fall-blooming plants (asters, mums, Joe-Pye weed).
• Prune azaleas directly after blooming.
• Fertilize your azaleas and rhododendrons and monitor them closely for any lacebug damage.
• Take cuttings from azaleas and roses to start new plants.
• Spray roses with Neem oil every two weeks.
• Start a sunflower patch with help from a few kids.
• Stake tall plants.
• Tie-up climbing roses and other wandering vines.
• Try a few new tropical plants on your patio.
• Check on your container plants daily and keep them well-watered.

  

• Baptisia is a native plant and is deer-resistant. Not only does it have beautiful flowers, but handsome foliage and interesting seedpods in the fall. | HGIC
• Cut a few flowers to enjoy at your workplace.
• Fill in bare spots in the garden with annuals.
• Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a nice companion plant to ferns and is an excellent nectar plant for butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. | HGIC

• 

  Heliopsis helianthoides is a native perennial which does best in full sun. It blooms from June to August. You can cut the stems back by 1/3 to 1/2 in early June to reduce the height. Remove spent flowers to prolong blooming. | HGIC

• Aphids are common plant feeding insects Low aphid numbers usually do not result in plant damage. However, large aphid populations can cause wilting, yellowing, and curling of leaves. |  Aphids on Ornamental Plants, HGIC
• Pests to watch for: aphids, 4-lined plant bug, lace bug, spidermites, slugs, snails, whiteflies
• Diseases to watch for:  Blackspot on roses; powdery mildew, rust, bacterial diseases.
• See UMD’s HGIC’s June Flower tips for more details.

Trees and Shrubs:

• Transplanting azaleas still is possible.
• Take soft wood cuttings of plants to propagate.
• Directly after blooming, prune flowering shrubs and vines.
• Water newly planted trees and shrubs weekly or as needed.
• Contact a certified arborist to have your trees’ health inspected.
• Shape your evergreens and hedges.

  

• Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) is medium-sized, deciduous tree with fragrant, white flowers in the spring. It also has nice fall color. | HGIC
• Prune long shoots on shrubs to keep plant neat looking.
• Prune flowering shrubs as their flowers fade. Last chance to do so for fall-blooming camellias.

  

• If you must mulch: Remove old mulch and then add 2″ to 3″ shredded pine or pine needles, keeping 3″ away from trunk.
• Galls may disfigure twigs and foliage, but they do not seriously affect the health of trees and shrubs. Chemical control is usually not recommended. | (photo credit HGIC, UMD)
• Soil test established trees that have not been performing well.
• Keep mowers and trimmers away from trunks!

• 

  Two new additions to the Maryland Department of Agriculture invasive plant list: Euonymus fortunei (wintercreeper), Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle). See https://tinyurl.com/j3lhokr for details.

• Pests to watch for:  adelgids, aphids, azalea lacebug, bagworms, borers, caterpillars, gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, leafminers, scale, sawfly, spidermites, and webworms.
• Diseases to watch for: powdery mildew
• See HGIC’s June Trees and Shrubs Tips for more details.

Lawns:

• Sharpen your lawnmower blade.
• Mow in the early evening and cut off no more than one-third of the grass height at one time. Leave clippings on the ground to provide nutrients.
• If you have a zoysiagrass lawn, after the spring green-up, starting in June, is the primary time to fertilize if needed. The UMD Extension recommendations for turfgrass fertilization, consistent with the 2011 Maryland fertilizer law, are here: Turfgrass Maintenance Calendars for Maryland Lawns | UMD
• “Crabgrass has germinated. It is now too late to apply a pre-emergent herbicide. Small patches of crabgrass can be controlled during the growing season by pulling it out by hand or applying a post-emergent herbicide as a spot treatment.” | Crabgrass, HGIC
• Apply pre-emergent weed control such as corn gluten.
• Turn your compost pile weekly and don’t let it dry out. Work compost into your planting beds.
• Diseases to watch for: brown patch, and red thread
• Pests to watch for: Grubs
• See HGIC’s June Lawn Tips for more details.

Indoors/Houseplants:

• Remove old leaves, damaged stems.
• Begin hardening off prior to putting outside in the shade for summer.
• Repot larger plants that are going outside for the summer.
• Repot root-bound houseplants and start fertilizing them.
• Pests to watch for:  aphids, mealybug, spider mites,  whitefly and scale.
• See HGIC’s June Houseplants Tips for more tips.
  

Indoor/Outdoor Insect and Wildlife Tips:

• Change the water of your birdbath daily and throw a Mosquito Dunk (or bits) into any standing water.
• Make hummingbird food by boiling two cups of sugar in four cups of water.
• Be vigilant for mosquito breeding spots—any standing water from a bottle cap to blocked gutters and clean them up immediately.
• Put out slug traps around your vulnerable edibles and hostas.
• A fact sheet on ticks from the Extension of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: https://grobigred.com/2017/05/18/its-the-season-for-ticks-how-do-you-prevent-them-from-finding-you/
• See HGIC’s June Insect Tips for more details.
• Watch for: carpenter ants, flies, stink bugs, termites, rabbits, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, moles, snakes, squirrels, and voles.
• For more information on wildlife management and attracting wildlife see HGIC’s June Wildlife tips.

Source: University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) and the Washington Gardener.

See below for upcoming local events in June.

Sandy Spring Museum Strawberry Festival

Saturday, June 3, 2017
10am-5:00pm

Sandy Spring Museum
17901 Bentley Rd
Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860

The Sandy Spring Museum Strawberry Festival features live music, pony rides, a climbing wall, beer and wine garden, food truck rally raffels games for the kids and so much more. Come support your community museum this Saturday, June 3rd 10-5. #SSMStrawFest Info at http://www.SandySpringMuseum.org/Strawberry-Festival/

Peerless and Rockville Launch Speaker Series

Celebrating Glenview Mansion’s Formal Gardens and Grounds

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Glenview Mansion
603 Edmonston Drive
Rockville, MD 20851

Speaker: Rob Orndorff, horticulturist, City of Rockville

Peerless Rockville and Rockville’s Glenview Mansion have partnered to sponsor a speakers’ series, set to kickoff June 8 with a talk by City of Rockville Horticulturist Rob Orndorff on the mansion’s formal gardens and grounds.

Six events are planned in total, one every two months into 2018. They begin at 7 p.m. at Glenview Mansion, 603 Edmonston Drive, and are free to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Following topics include:

• Aug. 10: “Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald: Revealing Her Life as a Visual Artist.” Roberta Mandrekes, secretary, Fitzgerald Literary Festival.
• Oct. 12: “The Evolution: From Farms to Community.” John Carter, AIA, architect and planner.
• Dec. 14: “Rockville: Portrait of a City.” Eileen McGuckain, Rockville historian.
• Feb. 8, 2018: Film Screening of Community Cornerstone’s “African American Communities in Montgomery County, MD.” Film produced by Heritage Montgomery.
• April 12, 2018: “Learn the Three B’s: Bee, Beneficials and Blooms.” Marie Rojas, owner of Borders & Butterflies.

For more information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/glenview or www.peerlessrockville.org.

Speaker Series: Catherine Zimmerman—Hometown Habitat: Lecture and Screening

Thursday, June 8, 2017
7:00pm – 9:00pm