Roses - It is a good idea to keep roses well mulched. This cuts down on maintenance like watering and weeding not to mention how attractive and neat it will make your roses look. When you can see bare ground around your plants it is time for more mulch. Be careful not to pile it around the crown or lower stems. Cankers and botrytis can occur when mulch covers the lower portion of the plant.
Spider mites and thrips can be a problem during July. Spider mite damage makes the leaves appear "silvery-gray." Thrip infested blossoms will turn brown on the petal edges. Pull the blossom apart to check for these rod-shaped, small insects that will be feeding at the base of the petals. For control of these insects refer to publication P2369, "Insects Pests of Perennial Plants in the Home Landscape." Read and follow label directions.
Vegetables - Cool season vegetable seed are in the racks now at garden centers. Collards are notoriously tough plants and could be seeded in the garden now. It is still a bit early to be planting turnip or mustard greens, but it is time to start cauliflower and broccoli in the cold frame or in flats for later transplanting. Some of the quicker broccoli varieties will bear in October if seeded now. Cauliflower is a long season vegetable. Seeds planted now will bear for Thanksgiving. Brussels sprouts take even longer than cauliflower. Brussels sprouts started now should be ready for Christmas.
Some varieties of Southern peas will produce a second, smaller crop if the plants are cut at about six inches and additional fertilizer and water are applied. Be sure to turn in your Southern pea plants quickly after harvest is done if you are not going to encourage a second crop. The leaves are a good source of nutrients for the soil, but the stems lignify quickly and tend to clog the tillage equipment if left too long in the garden.
Pruning - Spring-flowering evergreens like azalea, camellia and rhododendron should not be pruned now as they have started setting flower buds for next spring's blooms. You will be cutting off next spring's flowers if you prune now.
Sooty Mold - A black, sooty coating on the leaves of azaleas, gardenias, and crape myrtles is a fungus that grows on the sticky secretions (called honeydew) of aphids. To control the sooty mold, you'll need to use an insecticide, such as malathion, to kill the aphids. Once the aphids are under control the sooty mess will disappear over time.
