The flowerbeds are bursting with color right now, and of course, the care for them continues. It’s time to loosen the soil around the plants, carefully weed out any unwanted growth, and give perennial flowers a boost with a solution of organic fertilizers or a mineral mix with minimal nitrogen content. You can still feed asters, chrysanthemums, and even dahlias in the second half of August and into September.
Don’t forget to collect seeds from perennials like lilies, peonies, as well as phlox and annuals. August is also the time to continue grafting roses onto rose hips. For bushes that were grafted in July, you can start to loosen or remove the ties. At the end of the month, wild shoots on rose bushes should be removed. This is also the right time to start planting biennial flowering plants like Turkish carnations, Grenadine, daisies, roses (mallow), foxglove, and violas in their permanent spots.
It’s also time to transplant and divide some perennials, such as delphiniums and early varieties of phlox.
You can start collecting air bulbs from bulbous lily species and prepare special beds with a nutrient-rich, well-draining soil mix (add compost, leaf mold, or peat to regular garden soil).
There’s no shortage of work for houseplants either. At the beginning of the month, you can continue propagating geraniums (pelargoniums) from cuttings. Cut the tops off strong shoots and plant them (after letting them dry for a few hours indoors) in pots with 2-3 cuttings in a moist layer of sand (3-4 cm) placed on top of a nutrient substrate.
After a short rest, the calla lilies will enter a period of vigorous growth. During this time, they should be well-watered and fertilized.
For those growing fragrant freesias, remember that it’s time to plant their bulbs in boxes or directly into the soil.
To ensure that hydrangeas produce abundant flower buds, their vigorous growth should be slowed down (gradually reduce watering and fertilization).
Palms and ficuses that you’ve moved outdoors should be misted with water from a spray bottle as often as possible. During this month, you can also fertilize them with organic or mineral fertilizers 1-2 more times.
Succulent lovers should pay attention to the zigocactus (also known as the Japanese lantern, crab cactus, or Christmas cactus). To ensure it blooms well in winter, gradually reduce watering, but avoid letting the soil dry out completely. Place the plants in brightly lit areas. Remove any underdeveloped segments with a sharp knife, as they won’t produce well-formed buds. Once buds appear, these flowers should be watered generously.
It’s time to transplant strawberries as well. When planted, they will yield fruit abundantly in the second year. Choose well-developed, strong strawberry plants. They should be planted with the soil on their roots, spaced 15 cm apart in rows and 20-25 cm between rows. After planting, cover the seedlings with paper for 2-3 days.
When transplanting strawberries, make sure the root collar is level with the soil surface.
To eliminate pests like leafhoppers, red spider mites, codling moths, scab, and sawflies on apple and pear trees, spray the plants with an ash-soap solution mixed with nitrophoska.
Raspberries should be fed and sprayed with an ash-soap solution mixed with nitrophoska to protect against raspberry beetles, stem flies, and others.
Don’t forget to provide supports for the branches of apple and pear trees that are weighed down with fruit.