July to-do’s to help your lawn and garden thrive

🌻Be sure your plants have plenty of water.
🌻Stay ahead of weeds.
🌻Replace mulch as needed.
🌻Keep lawns at about 3 inches to protect from summer heat.
🌻Keep bird feeders and baths clean
🌻Keep up on deadheading.
🌻Shear back spent annuals by one-third.
🌻Do a final pinching of fall blooming flowers like mums and asters. To pinch fall bloomers, start by removing up to 1/3 of the plant when it reaches about 6” tall. 
🌻Remove any infected leaves from roses. Pick up fallen leaves. Continue fungicidal sprays as needed.  While spraying roses with fungicides, mix extra and spray hardy phlox to prevent powdery mildew.
🌻Fertilize container plants every 2 weeks with a water soluble solution.
🌻Divide bearded iris late this month.
🌻Don’t pinch mums after mid-July or you may delay flowering.