midsummer coverup

Many perennials bloom in early or midsummer. If you’re lucky, the foliage that’s left after they finish blooming is attractive. But sadly, sometimes it just doesn’t look all that great.

Let’s consider trumpet lilies (Lilium hybrids). Their big, bright flowers are gorgeous. But when they’re done blooming and you’ve deadheaded them, those stumpy stalks look terrible, and you can’t cut them back because the plants need the leaves to manufacture food for the rest of the season. So plant something in front of them. But choose carefully: The key to a successful pairing is to choose a coverup plant to go in front that has a similar habit and foliage to the spent plant.

Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha), with upright stalks and slender leaves, would never be mistaken for a lily, but, as you see at right, the leaf shape and texture are similar enough that the lilies seem to disappear behind it. In this case, because Mexican bush sage is a fast-growing annual, I like to tip it a little bit away from the lilies to give them some breathing room. But if you’re pairing two perennials, watch the spacing. You want them to be close enough for the coverup to work, so it’s OK if they billow into each other. But you don’t want one crowding the other out of the garden!

the secrets to dividing
in summer

If you’re noticing fewer flowers, a dead center or a plant that is shrinking, it may be time to divide. Although there are some plants, such as bearded iris and Oriental poppies, that are better off being split in summer, spring and fall are traditionally the best time to divide. But many plants take summer division just fine as long as you follow a few tips:

WATER FIRST — Summer’s heat and lack of rainfall are hard on plants, so water the plant and its future home the day before you dig.

CUT OFF LEAVES — The next day, before you dig cut the foliage back by half on plants like lamb’s ear or the bearded iris here. This way a smaller root system won’t have to support lots of foliage in the heat later. Shear plants whose leaves go all the way to the base, such as daylilies. But if a plant’s leaves are mostly at the ends of the stems, you’ll need to trim individual leaves. Coral bells is one example. For vigorous perennials, such as catmint or coreopsis, cut the entire plant back by half.

PLANT QUICKLY — Get your new plant in the hole quickly so the roots don’t dry out. Once the plant is in place, fill the hole halfway with soil and water well. That way the water soaks in and doesn’t evaporate or roll off the soil’s surface. Adding an organic liquid fertilizer, such as Neptune’s Harvest, to the water helps get plants off to a good start. Fill the hole the rest of the way with soil, water it again and put down a layer of mulch.

CREATE SHADE — Full-sun plants will benefit from a shade shelter for a week or two. Insert a few bamboo stakes in the soil on the west side of the plant to protect it from the hottest sun of the day. Clothespin some landscape fabric or an old sheet to the stakes to make a screen.

KEEP MOIST — Finally, check your plant each day, and if it looks wilted in the morning or late evening, give it a drink. You may need to water daily for a few days after planting.

Even when summer heat is at its worst, make easy work of watering with the Dual-Flo nozzle!

PHOTO: Courtesy of Skagit Gardens

plant pick

‘Jethro Tull’ tickseed
Coreopsis hybrid

The classic coreopsis flower is a single yellow daisy shape. But that’s not the only shape you’ll find these days. ‘Jethro Tull’ tickseed puts a little zing into this basic shape with fluted petals on flowers that keep coming from summer to frost. The first flush of blooms is the biggest — the plants are just covered. Cut a few flowers to add to a wildflower bouquet.

Later, remove spent stems below the foliage for a fresh supply of blooms in a few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the deeply lobed green leaves and full, mounding habit as a ground cover. To keep your coreopsis coming back every year, make sure it has well-drained soil. It doesn’t like “wet feet.”

TYPE Perennial BLOOM Summer SOIL Well-drained LIGHT Full sun SIZE 12 to 15 in. tall and 18 in. wide PESTS None serious HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 5 to 9, Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1

plant pick

Fernleaf bleeding heart
Dicentra hybrids

From midspring to fall, fernleaf bleeding heart’s arching flower stems dangle delicate blooms above bunches of lacy foliage. Most flowers have shades of red or pink, like ‘Luxuriant’, at left, but it’s possible to find white bloomers, like ‘Snowdrift’.

Bleeding heart is easy to care for. Deadheading? Optional. Dividing in spring? Optional. Staking? Unnecessary. In fact, with just a 3-in. layer of compost placed over the roots in spring, and a consistent watering schedule, this hardy plant will be happy! However, it does reseed readily, so if you don’t want a large stand of bleeding heart, pull seedlings in spring. If you plan on letting this perennial set seed, keep in mind that it can hybridize easily. Plant more than one cultivar in your garden, and you may get a surprise mix of flower colors next year.

TYPE Perennial SIZE 1 to 2 ft. tall and 18 in. wide BLOOM Red, pink or white blooms from spring to fall LIGHT Part to full shade SOIL Moist, well-drained PESTS None serious HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 3 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1

Learn about other great perennials in Great Plant Combos Made Easy at right!

butterfly container garden

Want to bring in the butterflies? Create a garden using plants they love. The butterflies will flock to the “buffet” selection of flowers. And you’ll like the fact that many of the plants are easy-care, long-blooming perennials. Most any yard has a spot where you can tuck in a butterfly bed. If yours doesn’t, or you already have a big butterfly garden, but you’d like to draw a few winged visitors closer to the deck or patio, containers are the solution. That way you’ll be able to watch them up close and personal.

While butterflies will visit almost any flower looking for food, they are more attracted to some plants. Those are the ones to use in a container. You’ll want to choose flowers that have lots of nectar, a butterfly’s favorite food. That’s why we’ve included aster, lantana, purple coneflower and black-eyed Susan. Add a canna in the center for some height and bold texture. This guarantees your container will look good to both you and hungry butterflies!

Check out the plant list and planting plan for this container in our Web extra!

plant pick

Double Knock Out^® rose
Rosa ‘RADtko’

Double Knock Out could be the perfect landscape rose. These 3 1/2-in., double fluorescent cherry-red flowers bloom from late spring to frost and never need deadheading. And like its cousin, the original Knock Out, this rose is drought-tolerant, self-cleaning and won’t succumb to blackspot.

With its hint of spicy scent, Double Knock Out is about as maintenance-free as it could be. It’s almost constantly covered in blooms — about five flowers in a cluster and 25 clusters on each branch. In fall the foliage turns rich purple with subtle maroon undertones.

TYPE Perennial SIZE 36 in. tall and wide BLOOM Cherry-red from late spring to frost LIGHT Full sun SOIL Moist, well-drained PESTS None serious HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 4 to 9; Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1

gerbera daisy
gerbera jamesonii

Who doesn’t love a daisy? Gerberas produce flowers up to 4 in. in diameter atop single, unbranched stems, making them excellent for cutting. They’re also perfect in containers, as you see here.

Make sure to plant them high, so water won’t collect in the crowns and rot them. Water and then let the soil dry out on the surface before watering again. But don’t let the foliage wilt, or you’ll have fewer flowers. To keep them blooming their best, feed gerberas once a season with slow-release 14-14-14 fertilizer.

Let your eyes be your guide when shopping — gerbera daisies come in a wide variety of colors, but aren’t usually sold as named varieties. You can also start gerberas from seed indoors in fall or spring. Seedlings need warmth, so keep them at 55 to 65 degrees until you move them outside.

TYPE Annual/tender perennial SIZE 18 in. tall and wide BLOOM All colors but blue in summer LIGHT Sun to part shade SOIL Well-drained, fertile PESTS Crown rot HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 8 to 12; Heat: AHS zones 12 to 1

new england aster
aster novae-angliae

If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, planting asters is a good start. There are so many asters to choose from — and butterflies like them all — but New England asters are the most popular. These easy-to-grow perennials have flowers in red, pink, purple or white, all with a yellow center. Because asters bloom in late summer, they provide a food source after all the summer-blooming plants have finished.

Plant asters in full sun and well-drained soil. Space them so air can circulate between the plants to reduce the chances of powdery mildew. Water at the base of the plants too — not overhead. On a warm autumn afternoon you may have trouble finding the flowers under all the feasting butterflies.

TYPE Perennial SIZE 10 in. to 5 ft. tall and 15 to 36 in. wide BLOOM Late summer to fall LIGHT Full sun SOIL Well-drained PESTS Powdery mildew HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 4 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1

problem solver

Maple leaf scorch

IDENTIFICATION — If your maple looks like someone used a torch on the leaves — especially near the top and on the southern side — your tree is probably suffering from leaf scorch, a direct result of dry summer heat. Trees transpire, like we do when we sweat, and if they lose more water than the roots can absorb, the leaves may scorch.

CONTROL — You’ll need to do some extra watering. Focus most of the water in the area directly beneath the outer tips of the branches, since that’s where the fine roots that absorb water quickly are located. Set a sprinkler and let it run until a coffee can placed in the area measures an inch of water. Do this once a week until the tree goes dormant. If it rains, you can reduce the amount of water. The damaged leaves will not recover, but next year the tree will be fine, if there is adequate moisture.

using containers in borders

Containers aren’t just for porches, patios and decks — you can also put them in your perennial borders. Here are some tips to help you decide where to place the containers.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX — The soil often dictates which plants you grow in your garden, but if you want to grow something that doesn’t work, try a container. For example, you can plant a container of succulents and place it among moisture-loving plants. You can also move houseplants outside in summer and place them among perennials.

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT — In narrow areas, like along the side of a driveway, sidewalk or side of the house, hang baskets of colorful annuals to add height to a planting that might otherwise be too low. Place several shepherd’s hooks in the bed — the repetition will give the bed a sense of unity.

problem solver

Grasshoppers

IDENTIFICATION — If you’ve walked through tall grass in the summer, you’ve seen grasshoppers leaping away in all directions. The one at left is a differential grasshopper, but there are many other species that range in color from yellow-green to brown, red-brown or black. Grasshoppers can be found in most parts of the United States and southern Canada.

DAMAGE — Most grasshoppers are serious pests of agricultural crops, but they’ll eat vegetables, fruits and flowers, too. Usually they’re rural pests, but have become much more common as more people garden in suburbs and on acreages. Grasshopper damage is usually only aesthetic, but in large numbers they can ruin fruits and vegetables.

CONTROL — Pesticides and beneficial pathogens that control grasshopper populations exist but are hard to use because they have to come in contact with the insect to work. Cover prized plants or vegetable crops with floating row covers or a fine wire mesh. Chickens and guinea fowl are also good natural grasshopper controls!

swordleaf inula
inula ensifolia

If you have clay soil, you might want to try growing swordleaf inula. The mounds of small swordlike leaves are almost covered with 1-in.-diameter golden-yellow flowers in midsummer.

It’s easy to start from seed indoors. Sow the seed, barely covering them with potting mix, and keep them moist with the temperature between 65 and 70 degrees. Seedlings will sprout in about three weeks. Move the new plants to your garden after the threat of frost has passed.

Plant swordleaf inula near the front of your border or bed and with the crown at least an inch or two above the ground. You need to keep the crown from getting too wet and rotting, especially in the winter.

TYPE Perennial SIZE 2 ft. tall and 1½ ft. wide BLOOM Mid- to late summer LIGHT Full sun SOIL Moist PESTS Powdery mildew if allowed to dry out too frequently HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 4 to 9; Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1

‘victoria’ mealycup sage
salvia farinacea

What could be better in a summer border than a lush mass of blue flowers? ‘Victoria’ is one of the best sages for massing, and the flowers and foliage are more dense than many other species. Besides, it’s easy to start from seed, or you can pick it up by the flat at almost any garden center.

If you keep ‘Victoria’ moist and well fed, it’ll bloom happily even without any deadheading. But it’s a good idea to remove the spent flower spikes to keep the plant looking neater. As the summer progresses, it gets bigger and better. And, if you live where ‘Victoria’ is not hardy, it’ll be one of the last annuals to be knocked down by frost.

HABIT Upright, well-branched SIZE 24 in. tall and 10 in. wide BLOOM Summer into autumn LIGHT Full sun SOIL Moist, well-drained PESTS None serious HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 8 to 11; Heat: AHS zones 12 to 1

designing with marigolds

Marigolds are some of the most versatile annuals you can grow. They will blend with almost any color in your garden and have a variety of heights. Since marigolds are heat- and drought-tolerant, they’re excellent subjects for containers, where the soil sometimes dries out between waterings. Unless you are planting a big container (more than 3 ft. in diameter), the French, triploid or signet marigolds will work best. They’re shorter and have smaller flowers that are in proportion with the container size.

Be bold — plant marigolds in between your vegetable plants. They’ll dress up the garden. Anywhere you put marigolds, plant them in large groups. Later in the season, they will grow into a tight mass. When you’re massing annuals like this, plant the seedlings a couple of inches closer than the packet tells you. You’ll get a fuller effect earlier than if you set them farther apart.

Combine vivid and pale-yellow marigolds with shades of blue or lavender. Orange and coppery selections look dramatic with dark burgundy or purple-bronze.

problem solver

Heat stress symptoms

Summer heat can be as damaging as winter cold. Here are some symptoms of heat-stress damage and some strategies for surviving the summer.

WILTING AND STUNTED GROWTH — Plants that exhibit these symptoms, such as fuchsia, are in need of water and shade. If a plant is exposed to prolonged periods of heat stress, the new growth will be smaller than the old and eventually the root system will shut down.

DROOPING OR ROLLED FOLIAGE — Another mechanism plants employ to protect themselves from heat is to roll their leaves and let them droop. Commonly seen on rhododendrons, this allows the plant to reduce its leaf surface area that is exposed to the sun. If left under these conditions for a long time the plant will eventually die.

To prevent these types of heat stress, place plants appropriately in your garden. If you have plants that are sensitive to summer heat, put them in a location that receives morning sun and afternoon shade, like an eastern exposure. This placement is also good for plants that suffer leaf scorch, like hosta.

Keep plants well mulched; organic mulch shades root systems and retains soil moisture. Rock mulches tend to add heat to the root zone and don’t conserve moisture as well. Also keep plants well watered. Using drip-irrigation lines can increase moisture without requiring you to stand out in the heat.

‘gift’ zinnia
zinnia elegans

This heirloom zinnia is the perfect addition to any garden, regardless of age. This all-red variety hails from Russia, but has been grown in North America for a long time. To grow ‘Gift’ zinnias in your garden, you can direct-sow the seeds after the last frost. Sow seeds about 1/8 in. deep. After they have sprouted, thin seedlings so plants are 6 to 12 in. apart.

If you’d like a bushy plant, pinch out the center growing tip when there are three or four sets of leaves. This will produce a shorter plant with more flowers. For larger flowers, remove some of the side shoots so the plant focuses its energy on the remaining flower buds.

Unfortunately, powdery mildew is a problem with ‘Gift’ and most other zinnias. Spray plants with a mixture of 1 tablespoon baking soda and liquid dish soap to 1 gallon of water every 10 to 14 days from spring through flowering. The extra effort is worth it to grow this heirloom zinnia.

TYPE Annual SIZE 3 to 4 ft. tall, 1 ft. wide BLOOM Summer to fall LIGHT Full sun SOIL Well-drained PESTS Powdery mildew HARDINESS Annual; Heat: AHS zones 12 to 1