Help your landscape beat the heat

Don’t let the heat keep your landscape from looking good all summer. A little care and planning can go a long way in keeping your yard attractive through the season.

If you can walk around your landscape at least once or twice a week to check for problems before they get out of hand, this will help in having a beautiful landscape. Regular fertilization, pruning, watering, mulching and pest control are all part of a good landscape management program.

Some plants, such as roses and red-tip photinia, are more demanding than other plants. Ornamental grasses, hollies and boxwood, when properly planted, require very little care once they get established.

Caring for ornamental plants is more difficult when they are planted in the wrong location. Azaleas, for instance, prefer moist, acid soil and shade. When planted in poorly drained soil or in full sun ,they become stressed and more prone to insects and diseases.

Planting at an improper depth can cause problems. The hole for your plant should not be deeper than the one that was in the original container, but should be twice as wide.

Fertilization is important, and the type of fertilizer used should be based on the plant’s need and type of plant. The basic elements in a bag of fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Plants in your landscape that are grown for their leaves — such as hollies and hostas — need more nitrogen. Plants that are grown for their flowers — such as crape myrtle, and azaleas — need more phosphorus.

Potassium is good to help a plant have a stronger root system. Too much nitrogen fertilizer on a plant that blooms can reduce the bloom.

Here are some tips to help your plants survive the summer heat:

Mulching: Helps to suppress weeds, retain soil moisture and reduce soil temperature. Mulch also adds organic matter to the soil. It should be no more than 2 inches thick around bedding plants.

Watering: Early morn- ing is the ideal time to water your plants. When you water in the morning, you have less wind to contend with, milder temperatures and better water pressure. Also, the water has time to soak down to the roots without evaporating.

Dead heading: Remove all faded blossoms. This will result in a thicker and more attractive plant, and will help control diseases and insects.