July Gardening Tips
David Hillock, Consumer Horticulturist
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
- Vegetables
- Make fall vegetable garden plantings in late July. Fall Gardening, Fact Sheet HLA-6009 gives planting recommendations.
- Trees and Shrubs
- Control bermudagrass around trees and shrubs with products containing sethoxydim, fusillade or glyphosate herbicides. Follow directions closely to avoid harming desirable plants.
- Fruits
- Flowers
- Divide and replant crowded Hybrid iris (Bearded Iris) after flowering until August.
- General
- Water plants deeply and early in the morning. Most plants need approximately 1 to 2½ inches of water per week.
- Providing birdbaths, shelter and food will help turn your landscape into a backyard wildlife habitat.
- Insect identification is important so you don’t get rid of the “Good Guys.” Beneficial Insects EPP-7307
- The hotter and drier it gets, the larger the spider mite populations!
- Expect some leaf fall, a normal reaction to drought. Water young plantings well.
- Lawn and Turf
- Brown patch disease of cool-season grasses can be a problem. Lawn Management in OK HLA-6420
- Meet water requirements of turfgrasses.
- Fertilization of warm-season grasses can continue if water is present for growth.
- Vegetative establishment of warm-season grasses should be completed by the end of July to ensure the least risk of winter kill. Establishing a Lawn in Oklahoma, HLA-6419
- Mowing heights for cool-season turfgrasses should be at 3 inches during hot, dry summer months. Gradually raise mowing height of bermudagrass lawns from 1½ to 2 inches.
- Sharpen or replace mower blades as needed. Shredded leaf blades are an invitation to disease and allow more stress on the grass.