Landscape Update, Summer 2010-Summer heat and dry soil conditions stress your landscape plants.

By Nancy Dransfield, Landscape Architect, Landesign of VA, Inc., P.O. Box 15582, Richmond, VA 23227, 804-261-6773, n.dransfield@verizon.net

What a shame to see the lush green grass turn brown so early this summer. The hottest June on record was a bad start to the summer for lawns and other landscape plants. Fescue is a cool season grass and struggles in the summer heat in Richmond, VA. I don’t think I’ve ever seen liriope (monkey grass) burn and turn brown until this year. Even junipers that are sun loving and drought resistant are not standing up to this heat. Be sure your plants are getting adequate water by testing the soil around the root ball. You should be able to push a 4-inch screw driver into the soil after watering. Watering is best done in the morning.

The summer is the time to put together a plan for over seeding your lawn. In July and early August, access what areas of your lawn have been taken over with weeds and wire grass. These areas should be sprayed with Round-Up, an herbicide that kills the weeds, but does not damage the soil. Wire grass may need two or even three applications of Round-Up. Start to spray by the end of July or early August to allow enough time for the weeds to die before over seeding in late August to early September. In areas that have a good stand of grass and some weeds, use products like Weed-B-Gone to kill the weeds and not the grass.

Do a soil test now to determine if the soil ph needs to be neutralized. Lawn likes a neutral ph and lime applications are necessary to combat our naturally acidic soil conditions. Lime can be applied any time to help correct an acid ph. Your lawn is best able to absorb nutrients and water, if the soil ph is in the neutral range. Contact the agricultural extension agent for your area to find out the best place to send your soil sample. Your lawn care professional can also help you with this task.

Flowers on shrubs, annuals and perennials seem to be withstanding the heat. My landscape is so fragrant when the flower laden magnolias and gardenias are in bloom together. Annuals like and vinca are full and covered with flowers that will remain until frost. Veronica, a blue flowering perennial, keeps putting out new flowers all season. Hibiscus, a tropical shrub that is seen in this photo is beautiful in summer containers. It has multiple large exotic flowers on it daily. You can find this plant in solid and bi-colors and with single or double flowers. lantana

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Preen, a pre-emergent herbicide, forms a barrier over the soil that does not let weed seeds germinate. It is available in granular form and is sprinkled on top of the mulch. This year, Preen introduced a shredded bark mulch that contains its pre-emergent herbicide. I think it could be good for small areas or top dressing existing mulch beds. Round-Up, a well-known herbicide, can also be used to control weeds in mulch beds. The weeds in open areas around trees and shrubs can be eliminated with Round-Up. Realize that it can kill groundcovers and other small plants if the leaves get drenched. It is not strong enough to kill larger plants, but can burn foliage if the spray hits it.

One of my favorite fertilizers is Osmocote. Is is a slow release food that feeds for months. It is used by many nurseryman to grow beautiful plants for resale. Apply it around the base of all types of landscape plants according to the manufacturers directions.

In late spring, get prepared to start watering your landscape plants. The gator bag is a great invention that helps trees get the large amount of water that they need. Fill the bag to the top 2 to 3 times a week to help your newly planted tree make it through the dry summer. The 20 gallons of water slowly seeps out of the tiny holes in the bottom of the bag directly to the root system of the plant.


Just this season I saw this new gator bag. It lays flat on the ground like a ring of mulch. This bag design can fit around the base of shrubs better then the vertical bag making it more usable for more types of plants. It holds 15 gallons of water. Give it a try.

Enjoy the time outside among the flowers. This is the time of year to reap the rewards of your hard work!


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