Mid-Summer Perennial Maintenance

Mid-Summer Perennial Maintenance

July 15, 2024 | C.L. Fornari |

In mid-to-late July perennial gardens benefit from some tweaking and refreshing, but don’t stress out about this. Such tasks can be done a little at a time in the early morning in order to avoid the heat. Here are some of the common plants that can use attention at this time of year. You can download a printable version of the graphic at the bottom by clicking here.

Early Flowering Daylilies

The early flowering daylilies such as Stella D’Oro, Happy Returns, and Early Bird Cardinal need to be deadheaded now. Cut out the stems that held the flowers and may now hold seed pods.
Some people have difficulty telling what is a flower bud and what is a daylily seed pod. The seed pods are round and fat like those in this photo. Flower buds are thinner and longer. By removing these seed pods in July, these varieties may put out more flowers later.
As long as you are up close and personal with your daylilies, removing old flower stems, you might as well grab the brown leaves and pull them out as well. They come away from the plant easily with a gentle tug.
Here is an early flowering daylily that has been cleaned up in mid-July. Often these will produce a few new flowers in the late summer or fall. An application of a liquid organic fertilizer can help stimulate new flowers.

Catmint (Nepeta)

In mid-July catmint flowers fade. You can leave the plant alone for the rest of the summer, or you can shear it into a ball. A third option is to cut the plant down, close to the ground.
Here is how 3 catmint plants look when they were just cut down to about an inch or two tall.
Ten short days after being cut down, this is how much the catmint has grown back. They will produce a few new flowers later in the summer to make the bees happy.

Lavender

In mid-July the lavender flowers start to fade. Pick them quickly if you want to save them for sachets or to display as dried flowers.
Shear the lavender plants into a rounded shape. You can use a hedge trimmer or a battery operated shearing tool. It’s fine to remove the tops of the foliage off along with the flower stems, since this creates thicker growth and keeps the plant from splaying open.

A chart showing common perennials that need tweaking now

Here is a chart that lists some of the most common early-flowering perennials that can use some tweaking in late July. Download this graphic to print by clicking here.
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2 Comments

  1. Diane on July 18, 2024 at 1:26 pm

    Love this!! Such helpful information and fabulous photos. Thanks so much!!

    Reply
  2. ellen garnick on August 1, 2024 at 9:00 am

    truly helpful info. many thanks

    Reply

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