July in Western North Carolina is nothing if not dramatic. Between sizzling summer days, drenching thunderstorms, and an ever-changing dance of pests, pollinators, and perennials, your garden is full of both challenges and opportunities. As we pass the summer solstice and lean deeper into the growing season, it’s a great time to reflect on your yard’s midseason performance and do a little maintenance, planning, and tending.
Here’s your July to-do list for a thriving garden in zone 7 and the greater Asheville area.
1. Celebrate the Garden in July
While Independence Day is the big holiday this month, savvy gardeners also mark a few plant-friendly days on their calendars:
- National Garden Week (first full week of July): A great time to share cut flowers with neighbors, visit a local public garden, or get the kids involved in planting pollinator favorites.
- Pollinator Week often overlaps late June into early July. Even if it’s officially over, July is peak season for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths. Let your native plants bloom, avoid spraying insecticides, and plant more milkweed and mountain mint!
2. Tending to Your Plants in the Summer Heat
July can be a scorcher, with average highs in Asheville hovering in the mid-80s, but it’s not unusual to see days in the 90s. The combination of heat and humidity presents several issues for plants, but also some big growth opportunities.
Water Wisely
- Early morning is best: Water between 6 and 9 a.m. to allow foliage to dry during the day and reduce the risk of fungal issues.
- Deep, infrequent watering: Aim for longer soakings less frequently to encourage deep root growth. Most established plants need about an inch of water per week, but container plants often need daily attention.
- Mulch is your friend: A two- to three-inch layer of organic mulch around trees, shrubs, and perennials will conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and stabilize soil temperatures.
Fertilizing in July
- Midseason boost: Give vegetables, annuals, and blooming perennials a gentle dose of balanced fertilizer or compost tea to keep them producing.
- You can fertilize your landscape plants for the second time (first time was in March); this will be the last time for the growing season. Water in the fertilizer, and then put your fertilizer away in a dry place for the winter.
- Do not fertilize after August 1. Stimulating new growth this late in the season can make them vulnerable to drought or early frosts.
Weeding
- Double-check your beds weekly for weeds. Weeds compete for nutrients, sunlight, and moisture, so if they’re impacting your wanted plants, they have to go!
- Clear the larger plants by digging them out, then cover the area with plastic sheets to fry the smaller weeds, making cleanup easier and environmentally friendly.
- When weeds are brown, remove the plastic and dead weeds, lay down newspapers or corrugated cardboard, moisten it with water, weigh it down with rocks and cover it with mulch to help keep future weeds away.
- Not ALL weeds are bad: Check out these five weeds that can be beneficial, or identify lots of common weeds in this guide, courtesy of Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
3. Summer Pruning & Maintenance
July isn’t the month for aggressive pruning, but some light shaping and deadheading are perfectly timed.
Deadhead and Clean Up
- Annuals and perennials that include echinacea (coneflowers), rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans), and coreopsis will keep blooming if you snip off spent flowers.
- Daylilies appreciate a cleanup of brown stems and seed pods.
- Roses can be deadheaded unless you’re hoping for hips.
Light Pruning
- Spring-flowering shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons should be pruned immediately after flowering, no later than mid-July. Later pruning can impact next year’s blooms.
- Hydrangeas can be tricky: Know your variety before pruning! Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) bloom on old wood, so pruning now will cut next year’s flowers. Panicle types (Hydrangea paniculata) bloom on new wood and can handle a midseason haircut if needed.
4. Pests, Diseases, and Garden Challenges
The warmth of July accelerates everything—including problems. Be vigilant and act early.
Common Pests in Our WNC Gardens
- Japanese beetles are active now and love roses, grapes, beans, and more. Knock them into soapy water in the early morning.
- If the idea of picking them off makes you squeamish, try a beetle trap. You’ll get a good idea of what the beetle population is like!
- If your bag gets full, you might want a long-term treatment plan, such as milky spore that removes the grubs. Remember, we can’t eliminate every pest in the garden, but we can manage them. Get more information on how to manage beetles and more with Integrated Pest Management. This is an environmentally-friendly, nature-based solution. (And we’re always happy to discuss this and other treatments with you.)
- Tomato hornworms are large and easy to spot. Handpick and feed to the chickens (or leave if parasitized by white cocoons—that means wasps are helping you).
- Aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies may show up in dry weather. A sharp blast of water or a bit of insecticidal soap can do the trick.
Watch for Diseases
- Powdery mildew can show up on squash, bee balm, and phlox. Improve airflow, water early, and remove affected leaves.
- Tomato blight and leaf spot thrive in moist, warm conditions. Use mulch, avoid overhead watering, and remove infected foliage promptly.
5. Lawn and Turf Care
While July is not the time to seed or aerate cool-season grasses like fescue, there are still a few things to keep in mind.
- Mow high: Set your mower to three-and-a-half to four inches to help grass outcompete weeds and tolerate drought. (Crabgrass will emerge where the grass is too low!)
- Sharpen mower blades: Clean cuts heal faster and reduce disease entry points.
- Water early and deeply: Just like with your garden beds, lawns benefit from morning watering and longer soakings.
- Avoid fertilizing cool-season turf now—save that task for September when the temperatures start to dip again.
6. Planting in July? Yes, With Care
While it’s not the peak planting season, you can still add some plants to your landscape with extra attention.
Plant Heat-Lovers
- Vegetables: Sow beans, okra, cucumbers, and summer squash now for a late crop. Start seeds of broccoli and kale indoors for a fall garden.
- Herbs: Basil, cilantro, and dill grow quickly in the heat. Keep harvesting to encourage more growth.
- Flowers: It’s the perfect time to fill holes in the borders with some summer show-stoppers. Anemones, Joe Pye weed, asters, toad lilies, helenium, American beautyberry, and caropyteris are all worth the effort to plant now for fall enjoyment! Also, zinnias, sunflowers, and marigolds can be direct-sown for blooms in August and beyond.
Transplanting Tips
- Choose a cloudy day or plant in the evening.
- Water thoroughly before and after planting.
- Provide temporary shade for a few days if needed.
7. Harvest and Enjoy
Your July garden is probably at its most generous. Tomatoes are coming in, peppers are ripening, and herbs are overflowing.
- Harvest frequently: Pick beans, squash, and cucumbers young for best flavor and continued production.
- Preserve the bounty: Start drying herbs, freezing berries, or making small-batch pickles.
- Share with neighbors! A basket of garden-fresh produce is always welcome.
8. Plan Ahead
Yes, it’s hot. Yes, you’re busy watering and weeding. But July is a great time to do some quiet planning.
- Take notes: What’s thriving? What’s struggling? Where is there room for improvement?
- Order fall seeds: Start thinking about your autumn crops.
- Mark your calendar: August and September bring prime times for planting perennials and trees.
Remember, the garden doesn’t need to be perfect to be beautiful. July is a dynamic month full of energy, color, and the occasional challenge. Your time in the yard might involve a little more sweat, but it also comes with ripe tomatoes, buzzing bees, and the satisfaction of tending a living landscape. Take breaks in the shade, hydrate yourself as well as your plants, and enjoy the life blooming all around you.
Happy gardening!
