August is an ideal time to plant seeds for a second gardening season that can be as productive as your major early spring plantings. Late summer is perfect for a delicious fall vegetable and herb harvest.
Vegetables that can be planted in August include leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, collards, kale and mustard. Radishes, turnips, beets and carrots can all be started from seeds in August.
Mid- to late-August is often an excellent time to plant fall flowers, as long as the weather isn't still so hot that the plants will suffer heat stress. But don't wait too late to plant, or you'll have a very short window to enjoy your flowers. Check the growing requirements for each plant.
Answer: Late summer (late August to mid-September) is an excellent time to plant many perennials. It is also a good time to move or divide perennials, such as peony, daylily, garden phlox, and oriental poppy.
August is an ideal time to plant seeds for a second gardening season that can be as productive as your major early spring plantings. Late summer is perfect for a delicious fall vegetable and herb harvest.
While you can plant a late planting to the first frost date, it's always best to allow as much growing time as possible. If you missed the spring planting, then calculate which vegetables you can grow now and still have a harvest before the first frost.
In areas with cold winters, such as USDA Hardiness zones 5 and 6, you'll generally want to wrap up fall planting by late October, and by mid-October in zones 3 and 4. But better late than never!
If you would like to keep any half-hardy plants for next year, August is the time to take cuttings. Perennials such as Verbenas, Fuchsias and Pelargoniums are good plants to take cuttings from. Once you have taken the cutting, dip into a hormone rooting compound before inserting them into small pots.
Grass seed, trees and vegetables can all be planted as summer days shorten. AMES, Iowa – Seeds germinate fast when the soil is already nice and warm, which makes late summer a good time to rejuvenate lawns and plant fall vegetable crops of spinach, lettuce, peas and kale. Or plant a new tree.
Late summer planting
Choose quick-maturing crops. Spinach, lettuce and greens, beets, carrots, peas, and beans can be sown now. Most seeds will readily germinate in the garden now because the soil holds heat well into autumn; warm soil (in the 70°s) is ideal for seed starting, as long as the weather is not too hot.
This method encourages the plants' roots to reach deeply for residual water, even when the surface of the soil appears dry. The standard rule of thumb is to give your flowers and vegetables the equivalent of at 1 inch of water per week (and as much as double that amount in the peak of summer).
The general advice for gardeners is to get their crops in the ground by the end of June at the latest, but that doesn't mean you should give up hope now that it's July. There's some wiggle room for planting late in the season, depending on your hardiness zone and how strategic you are about what goes in the ground.
I did some research and found out that houseplants need to be taken indoors before overnight temperatures dip below 45 degrees. Most tropical plants suffer harm from temperatures below 40 degrees.
The most vigorous growth of plants will be in the summer when the sun is up and out the longest. During winter, the sun is neither as high in the sky, nor in the sky for as long as it is in the summer. For your plants, that means less light. For some plants, this may trigger dormancy.
You can defy the heat of August and dig in some new garden space for late summer planting. You will certainly appreciate the additional space next spring. Some gardeners may choose container-friendly vegetables for August planting.
By the end of summer and into early fall, weed growth slows down leaving grass seed with less competition for water and nutrients. Planting in August or September affords the grass two cool season in which to grow (fall and spring) before withstanding the stress of scorching summer heat.
Most people might think of Spring as the best time to start a new lawn, but the truth is that late Summer and early Fall are far better for starting a new lawn from seed. Any time after August 15th is prime lawn time; the warm soil in combination with cooler air temperatures will encourage far better seed germination.
For this Blooming Period, we're highlighting some late summer/fall favorites: callas; China asters; lisianthus; perennial sunflowers; and zinnias.