Let’s face it, August heat makes the garden a little less fun than it was in May and any hint of cooler weather is still a hot minute away in Georgia. However, there is lots to do with plant containers now to revive them and looking beautiful through the hot summer months and into fall. You can even make it a family affair - a fun, hands-on experience to tackle with the kids.
- Prune annuals, vines and trailing plants. We like seeing plants trail down the side of a pot but not touching the ground. We continually trim back to keep plants bushy and to eliminate insect interest from the ground. Trim flower stems, stalks and vines just above a new set of leaves or blooms forming. Dragon wing begonia, salvia, gaura, gomphrena, canna lily and coleus are good to trim back now for fall flowers & healthy foliage.
- Treat for slugs and snails. If you see holes in your leaves, especially on big leaves like caladium, potato vine, petunia or heuchera, treat with slug pellets. Sprinkle a teaspoon or two on top of the soil at the base of impacted plants.
- Fertilize lightly. This includes roses, azaleas, and flowering annuals for fall blooms. Always water in fertilizer. Never leave it on dry soil. Our go to fertilizer is Nelson’s ColorStar. I fully recommend this product and promise hand over heart that JRB is not sponsored. We use this for all our clients and in our own gardens.
Jennifer Rust is the founder of Jennifer Rust Botanicals, a botanical design studio started and operating in East Cobb. JRB creates biophilic designs for commercial properties both locally and nationally as well as a seasonal subscription service that delivers professionally designed planters to doors across Atlanta at the start of each season. JenniferRustBotanicals.com