Keep your late-summer garden looking fantastic with these easy tips for your August garden. August is the best time to dig and divide perennial flowers in your garden (such as hosta, Oriental poppy, lily, daylily, ornamental grasses, and bearded iris).
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.
Dahlias are an obvious choice when it comes to what to plant in August, as they will flower right up to the first frosts and several varieties bring added interest with bronze foliage. You can also rely on long-blooming salvias, astilbes, sunny rudbeckias and gaillardias, asters, sedums and heleniums.
Just because it's the end of summer it doesn't mean that it's too late to plant in the garden. In fact, many plants — such as spring bulbs and perennials — need to be planted in the late summer or early fall months, depending on your zone, in order to generate enough energy to bloom in the spring.
Tip. 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.
It's not too late to plant in your garden! In much of the country, summer still is full steam ahead in August. In other regions, the hint of cooler evenings mean the growing season is beginning to slow down. But regardless of where you live, there's plenty of time left in the season left for growing things!
Plants in the Cole or Brassica family are perfect crops you can plant in August. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts all do very well in the fall.
August is a fabulous month in the vegetable garden. The summer crops are hopefully overwhelming us with their productivity and the crops we sowed last month are coming along beautifully. And, there are still plenty of options for planting in August.
Passionflower is a perennial vine (meaning it comes back every year) that dies back in the fall; it needs rich well-drained soil and partial shade to full sun. With winding tendrils, this vine can climb vertical structures like trellises and armatures created from chicken wire or similar materials.
Chrysanthemums. Late summer or early fall is an excellent time to plant mums, one of the symbolic flowers of the season. Practically any time in September that strikes your fancy is a good bet, so long as it's at least six weeks before the year's first frost.
Many perennials are grown from tiny plugs that reach salable size while growing in a pot. Generally, these container-grown plants are excellent candidates for late summer and fall planting in your garden. It's usually best to divide plants shortly after they have finished flowering.
Planting. Most perennials should be planted in the fall or early spring. Fall planting gives the plant more time to become established before the start of active growth in the spring. Fall-planted perennials are usually well-established before hot weather.
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).
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.
During May and June, garden plants will use about one inch of water each week. In July, August, and September, they require about two inches of water per week for best growth. It normally takes this amount of watering per week to maintain production if no rain falls.
Planting in September
Plant now beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celery, fava beans, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, both head and leaf lettuce, mustard greens, onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
Think about ways to add color and draw beneficial insects to your fall gardens. Consider planting nasturtiums, marigolds, asters, cosmos, mums, and anemones. Plan out your fall pots and planters. Summer blooms are fading, but there are many opportunities to add color and visual interest to your landscape.
Personally I think fall is a terrific time to plant roses. The exception may be if you live well up north where bitter winters come on quick and early, but for most of us it's a good time. Here in our zone 7/6 foothills of the Blue Ridge I start planting in late August when the nights turn cooler.
Meanwhile, summer planting is also not ideal because of the high heat during this season. In San Diego, for instance, the temperature in August can hit 78°F. That's why the best time to plant roses in Southern California is either in spring or fall.