A Comprehensive Gardeners Checklist for August

KEEP CALM AND

CARRY ON 

It’s a marathon not a sprint, so continue to keep doing that great work of weeding, watering, harvesting, deadheading, and controlling pests. Start clearing out any fading crops for fall plantings. August is also a great time to start thinking about your fall garden in this growing zone. It’s hard to believe, but Fall is indeed coming. Next month the first day of Fall arrives on Sept. 22nd.  Remember Fall is THE best time for planting perennials including bushes and trees! If you are considering adding any new gardens or plants to your yard, reach out to us for recommendations, ideas or a plan so that you’ll be ready to start when the time is right. 

🌿 Watering & Drought Management

Water Deeply

  • Continue to water trees, shrubs, and perennials deeply once or twice per week instead of daily. Plants need an average of one inch of water per week.

  • Water early in the morning (5–9 a.m.) to minimize evaporation.

  • Check and prioritize any potted plants and/ or grow bags and use a moisture meter to avoid under or over watering. 

Refresh Mulch

  • Maintain 1-2 inches of mulch.

  • Keep mulch pulled several inches away from tree trunks and plant crowns to avoid rot

  • Add mulch where it has worn thin, decomposed or washed away.

Watch for Heat Stress

Signs include:

  • Wilting despite moist soil

  • Leaf scorch

  • Premature leaf drop

  • Curling foliage

Avoid fertilizing any stressed plants until temperatures moderate.

🌸 Perennial & Pollinator Gardens

Deadhead Selectively

Continue deadheading flowers which will allow plants to use energy reserves for a final flower display.

Deadhead plants such as:

  • Coneflowers

  • Black-eyed Susans

  • Coreopsis

  • Blanket Flower

  • Salvia

Leave some seed heads for:

  • Goldfinches

  • Native birds

  • Winter interest

Divide Early Bloomers

After flowering, divide:

  • Daylilies: Divide every 3-4 years for optimal blooms.

  • Bearded Iris: Split every 3-5 years to prevent overcrowding.

Continue Supporting Pollinators

August is another busy month for bees and butterflies.

Provide:

  • Fresh shallow water for bees and butterflies

  • Bare soil for ground-nesting bees

  • Bee hotels for leafcutter, mason and sweat bees

  • Avoid pesticide use whenever possible

🌳 Trees & Shrubs

Inspect Weekly

Look for:

  • Drought stress

  • Japanese beetle damage

  • Spider mites

  • Scale insects

  • Bagworms

  • Leaf spot diseases

Treat only when necessary and avoid spraying any blooming plants.

Young Tree Care

  • Continue watering newly planted trees.

  • Check staking and loosen ties if necessary.

  • Remove suckers and watersprouts.

  • Install tree guards to avoid buck rub damage where deer have access

  • Inspect any existing tree guards to adjust for tree growth or damage

Avoid Heavy Pruning

Avoid pruning trees and shrubs since doing so this late in the season can stimulate new growth that will not harden off in time for the cold winter weather ahead. Sap is also running from leaf to root making your trees or bushes more susceptible to disease if pruned at this time of year.  Delay pruning until the end of the dormant season in late winter or early spring.

🥕 Vegetable Garden

Harvest Frequently

Continue harvesting:

  • Tomatoes

  • Peppers

  • Eggplant

  • Cucumbers

  • Okra

  • Beans

  • Melons

Frequent harvest encourages continued production. Remove old plants which have stopped producing to eliminate a shelter for insects and disease organisms

Plant Fall Crops

  • Direct sow radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, and kale in late August through September.

  • Sow peas in mid to late August for a fall crop.

  • Finish starting seeds inside for fall crops like Brussels sprouts, and other heading Brassicas.

  • Plant a fall crop of potatoes. Try to get them in by the second week of September.

  • Seeds can again be sown for a late crop of leaf lettuce, mustard greens, Swiss chard, and spinach.

Use shade cloth or consistent watering to improve germination during hot weather.

🍓 Fruit Garden

  • Remove old raspberry and blackberry canes after harvest. Leave only three to four young canes per foot of row. Wait until spring to prune back shoot tips.

  • Continue monitoring grapes and fruit trees for disease and insect issues.

  • Pick ripe fruit promptly to discourage pilfering by insects and wildlife.

🌼 Annual Flowers

Keep blooming annuals thriving by:

  • Deadheading spent flowers

  • Fertilizing container plants lightly if still blooming

  • Checking containers daily for water

  • Watching for spider mites on stressed plants

🌱 Weed Control

August is an excellent month to remove:

  • Japanese stiltgrass

  • Crabgrass before seed develops

  • Chamberbitter

  • Spurge

  • Nutsedge

  • Tree seedlings

Do not allow invasive weeds to go to seed.

Continue monitoring for invasive plants such as:

  • English ivy

  • Chinese privet

  • Japanese honeysuckle

  • Kudzu

  • Tree-of-heaven

🐝 Wildlife & Pollinators

Keep your garden wildlife-friendly by:

  • Leaving some flowers to produce seed

  • Refilling bird baths no less than every third day

  • Cleaning and refilling hummingbird feeders every 2–3 days

  • Leaving a few areas of leaf litter undisturbed

  • Avoiding any pesticide applications during bloom. It’s better to remove damaging insects by hand.

🌱 Compost

  • Turn compost piles if moisture levels are adequate.

  • Water dry compost lightly.

  • Add spent annuals (without disease).

  • Continue layering green and brown materials.

📅 Plan Ahead for Fall

Now is the perfect time to prepare for fall renovation:

  • Test your soil to determine what amendments it may need

  • Order seeds

  • Sow seeds for any crop covers

  • Order native plants

  • Plan new pollinator beds

  • Purchase spring-flowering bulbs before supplies sell out

  • Schedule September planting projects

  • Evaluate irrigation needs going forward

  • Take notes on plants that struggled during summer heat

Mary Berkley