By August, our Southern Appalachian gardens are in full summer swing. Tomatoes are tumbling off the vine, pollinators are dancing through the flowers, and the late-day light has that unmistakable golden glow. It’s a time when everything seems a bit lazier, and we should embrace that! But August is also a pivot point in the gardening year. It’s not just the last full month of summer, it’s the gentle start of the transition to fall.
In zones 6 and 7 and throughout the Asheville area, August is a month of both tending and planning. While the heat lingers, the days are slowly shortening, and that opens the door to fall planting and cool-season crops. Whether you’re harvesting veggies, refreshing your containers, or prepping your landscape for fall color, there’s plenty to do (but don’t worry, it’s not all sweat and shovels).
Here’s your August garden checklist, tailored to the unique rhythms of our beautiful WNC mountains.
Garden Planning and Landscape Goals
1. Think Fall Planting—Yes, Already
In Western North Carolina, fall is the best time to plant trees, shrubs, and perennials. Why? The soil is still warm, the air is cooling, and plants can focus on establishing healthy root systems without the stress of summer heat.
Start planning now for what you’d like to add this fall. Maybe you’ve noticed a gap in your garden beds or want to add more native plants for pollinators. Make note of what’s thriving and what’s struggling, and start thinking about:
- Replacing overgrown or underperforming shrubs
- Filling in bare spots with low-maintenance perennials like Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower), Rudbeckia fulgida (black-eyed Susan), or native grasses
- Adding fall- and winter-interest plants such as Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly), Muhlenbergia capillaris (pink muhly grass), or Heuchera (coral bells)
2. Assess for Erosion and Drainage
August often brings downpours. Walk your landscape after a heavy rain to observe:
- Are any areas eroding?
- Is water pooling around your foundation?
- Are plants showing signs of stress from either soggy or dry soil?
Make notes now and plan to address these issues when the weather cools. Plants like Aronia melanocarpa, Itea virginica, and Carex spp. can help stabilize slopes and absorb excess water naturally.
Flower Garden Tasks
3. Deadhead for Extended Bloom
August is the perfect time to tidy up your flower beds. Many summer perennials will rebloom or at least look neater with a little grooming.
- Snip faded blooms off rudbeckia, echinacea, salvia, and coreopsis.
- Cut back leggy annuals such as petunias, verbena, and coleus.
- Remove spent daylily scapes (leafless stems) and brown foliage to keep beds looking fresh.
Bonus: Deadheading helps prevent unwanted reseeding. Get more instructions about cutting back perennials here.
4. Divide and Replant Iris
Once the tall bearded irises have finished blooming and the fans start to yellow, it’s time to dig, divide, and replant. (Iris “fans” refer to the fan-shaped clusters of leaves that emerge from each rhizome under the ground.)
- Lift the clump gently with a fork or spade.
- Trim the leaves to about six inches tall.
- Replant healthy rhizomes in well-drained soil, spaced about 12 inches apart.
- Discard any soft or rotten sections.
5. Don’t See Any Dahlias? Make Plans to Plant Some Bulbs in April
If the colorful dahlias popping out everywhere make you wish you had them in your garden, well, you can make that happen! Remember, dahlias are a summer bulb planted in mid-April (along with the gladiolas). If you forgot them this year, make a note on your garden calendar to pick them up in February. They’ll be in the stores by then.
Edible Garden Goals
6. Sow Your Fall Vegetable Garden
August is prime time to plant cool-season crops that will thrive into autumn and early winter.
Direct seed:
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Spinach
- Arugula
- Radishes
- Turnips
- Beets
- Carrots
- Bush beans (early in the month)
Transplant:
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Collards
- Cauliflower
- Swiss chard
Start by enriching beds with compost and removing tired summer crops. If you’re not planting immediately, cover any empty spaces with mulch or sow a cover crop (like buckwheat) to suppress weeds and improve the soil.
7. Harvest and Preserve Your Summer Bounty
August can be a busy month for harvesting…
- Tomatoes can be picked while green and allowed to ripen on your kitchen counter, but their flavor is better the longer they stay on the vine. Don’t refrigerate. Keep at room temperature.
- Cucumbers are best picked young. Too big, and their flavor becomes bland, and the seeds are too big. Pick at about six to eight inches.
- Peppers, like tomatoes, are more flavorful the longer they remain on the vine. Use your snippers to cut them off; don’t pull. You can pull up the whole plant if you pull too hard.
- Beans can be picked anytime, but keep picking for a more extended harvest.
- Melons need more time to ripen. They should smell ripe and pull easily from the vine.
- Potatoes are ready when the skin isn’t thin and transparent. Pull up an entire plant, dust off the potatoes for eating, and replant the plant. You’ll get more potatoes. If you do this now, you may have new potatoes before temperatures drop.
- Pick herbs such as basil, thyme, and oregano in the morning, and dry or freeze them.
- Check your cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower for worms, and your squash for borers.
- Make small-batch pickles or sauces to enjoy into the fall.
Keep harvesting regularly to encourage continued production—and share any extras with friends, neighbors, or local food pantries.
Trees, Shrubs, and Lawn Tasks
8. Water Deeply and Consistently
The heat can be relentless in August, and newly planted trees and shrubs especially need your attention.
- Water deeply once or twice a week, depending on rainfall.
- Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to deliver water directly to the roots.
- Apply mulch (but keep it away from trunks) to conserve moisture.
9. Avoid Fertilizing Trees and Shrubs
Fertilizing in late summer can stimulate new growth that won’t have time to harden off before winter. If your plants are healthy, hold off on fertilizing until spring.
10. Plan for Lawn Renovation (But Wait to Seed)
August is the month to plan cool-season lawn renovations in zone 7, but don’t seed just yet. Wait until early to mid-September, when temperatures begin to drop.
This month, you can:
- Dethatch or aerate if needed
- Reseed where necessary
- Remove weeds (by hand or with spot treatments)
- Apply compost to improve soil structure (about one inch should do it)
- Mow less, but leave the grass clippings behind (this provides nitrogen for the soil)
- Treat the lawn for grubs. Use Milky Spore now, which can be used in all types of weather, but do not mow until the spore has been watered into the soil for 15 minutes or longer.
Pollinator and Wildlife Support
11. Support Late-Season Pollinators
As summer wanes, pollinators need reliable sources of nectar and pollen. Keep feeding them by planting or maintaining:
- Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
- Symphyotrichum spp. (native asters)
- Eutrochium spp. (Joe-Pye weed)
- Monarda spp. (bee balm)
- Zinnias and tithonia (Mexican sunflower) for butterflies
These late-season bloomers support monarch migration and sustain bees as they prepare for winter.
12. Leave Some Mess
You have our permission! While it’s tempting to start fall clean-up early, leaving a little “messiness” can help wildlife.
- Skip deadheading a few echinacea or rudbeckia; the seed heads feed birds.
- Leave hollow stems for beneficial insects to overwinter.
- Let goldenrod and native grasses stand tall to provide shelter and seeds.
Weeding, Mulching, Refreshing, and General Maintenance
13. Stay Ahead of Weeds
Weeds are thriving in August heat. Keep them from setting seed by pulling or hoeing regularly. Pay close attention to:
- Edges of beds and paths
- Fence lines
- Between crops in your vegetable garden
Mulch can help suppress weed growth and preserve moisture. Top off mulch layers if they’ve thinned over the summer.
14. Tidy and Refresh Containers
By now, your spring container plantings may be looking tired. Refresh them by:
- Removing yellowing or floppy leaves on your shrubs and perennials; also remove any spent plants
- Cutting back overgrown growth, and prune out any diseased, dying, and already-dead stems
- Adding fresh potting soil and compost
- Replanting with late-summer bloomers that include mums, ornamental peppers, or sedums
- Also… Hostas tend to turn yellow now, either from scorch (too much sun and heat) or a fungal disease: petiole rot. With petiole rot, the leaves turn yellow, brown, and mushy and are easily pulled off, with mustard-sized seeds at the petiole base. Remove these diseased leaves, remove the soil surrounding your plant about eight inches out, and replace it with new soil.
- Many of your Japanese maples are now getting crispy leaves, or tip-burn, from the hot August sun. Don’t stress over this. They’ll be fine; they’re sensitive to the heat and scorching sun.
Containers can also be used for a fall vegetable garden; try planting lettuce, chard, or kale (refer back to the Edible Garden Goals list above!) for a decorative (and edible) porch display.
15. Check for Bugs and Disease
- It’s beetle time! Japanese beetles and June beetles are preparing to lay their eggs… Now’s the time to protect your plants and lawn. Discover more about summer pests and Integrated Pest Management.
- Double-check conifers for spider mites, and azaleas and rhododendrons for lace bugs, pruning out damaged wood as you go.
- Discover what you didn’t know about beneficial predatory insects.
Work With the Weather
August can bring extreme weather, either high heat and humidity or surprise thunderstorms. Use these tips to work with, not against, the season:
- Garden early in the morning or later in the evening to avoid peak heat.
- Wear a hat, use sunscreen, and hydrate often.
- Avoid digging or planting after heavy rain when the soil is saturated.
Recap: Quick August Garden Checklist for the Greater Asheville Area
▢ Deadhead perennials and annuals
▢ Divide and replant iris
▢ Sow fall crops: lettuce, kale, spinach, carrots
▢ Transplant broccoli and cabbage
▢ Plan for fall planting of trees, shrubs, and perennials
▢ Water deeply—especially new plantings
▢ Assess for drainage and erosion issues
▢ Avoid fertilizing trees/shrubs
▢ Watch for signs of pest or disease stress
▢ Mulch to suppress weeds and conserve moisture
▢ Prep lawn for September seeding
▢ Keep containers tidy and refreshed
▢ Leave seed heads for birds and beneficial insects
▢ Make notes for fall garden changes and improvements
August Is a Bridge to the Next Season
It’s easy to think of August as the garden’s “winding down” month, but here in our area, it’s more like a stepping stone. We’re still basking in summer’s glory, but fall’s potential is right around the corner. A little attention this month sets you up for colorful autumn beds, a productive fall veggie patch, and a healthier landscape overall!
So take time to enjoy the sights, scents, and sounds of your garden, but don’t pack up your tools just yet. The best gardening weather of the year is just ahead…
