July Yard & Garden Tips for Laurens County

Provided by Clemson Extension, Laurens County
www.clemson.edu/laurens

July brings hot, humid days to Laurens County, which means your yard and garden require careful attention. This month’s focus includes pest management, disease prevention, and strategic planting to ensure your lawn and garden continue to thrive through the summer months.

What to Watch Out For in July

Flowers
Japanese Beetles: These pests can quickly defoliate your plants. Inspect regularly and treat infestations promptly with liquid carbaryl (Sevin). Always follow label instructions and avoid dust forms due to poor application coverage.

Fruits
Fireblight: Inspect fruit trees for this disease, especially if you’ve had problems in the past. Prevention starts with resistant varieties and timely bloom sprays.

Lawns
Brown Patch & Dollar Spot: Warm-season grasses remain vulnerable. Stay alert if these diseases have been a past problem.
Chinch Bugs: Monitor warm-season lawns, especially St. Augustine and zoysia.
White Grubs: Bacillus thuringiensis is effective on Japanese beetle grubs but less so on others.
Mole Crickets: July is prime time to manage infestations through diligent monitoring and treatment.

Trees & Shrubs
Bagworms: Inspect juniper, arborvitae, pines, and broadleaf trees. Hand-pick light infestations; Bacillus thuringiensis can control larger outbreaks.

Vegetables
Common Pests: Be on the lookout for corn earworm, cucumber beetle, and squash vine borer.
Blossom End Rot: Check tomatoes. Address calcium deficiencies with gypsum or foliar sprays. Remove affected fruits.

Things to Do This Month

Fruits
Spray Schedules: Continue applying fungicides (like Captan) every 7–10 days. Hold off on insecticides until after bloom to protect pollinators.

Lawns
Fertilization: Apply nitrogen to Bermuda and zoysia. For centipede lawns, iron helps green without excessive growth.
Fire Ant Control: If not done already, apply fire ant baits this month when ground temps range between 70-95°F.
Aeration: Ideal time for warm-season lawns. Aerate thoroughly for best results.
Establishment: Too late to seed Bermuda (except unhulled seed in fall). Wait until fall for cool-season grasses.
Irrigation: Lawns and gardens typically need one inch of water weekly (including rainfall). Sweet corn and yellow squash may need up to two inches. Adjust based on plant needs and growth stage—avoid daily watering.

Ponds
Stocking: July is a good time to stock bass in recreational ponds.

Trees & Shrubs
Pruning: Now is a good time to prune azalea, dogwood, forsythia, redbud, and rhododendron, after blooming but before fall bud set. Consider pruning oakleaf hydrangea and late-blooming azaleas as well.

Vegetables
July Planting Calendar:
Pole Beans: July 15–25
Lima Beans: July 1–15
Cabbage: July 1–30
Carrots: July 1–30
Collards: July 1–August 30
Cucumbers: July 1–15
Peppers: July 20–25
Irish Potatoes: July 1–15
Squash: July 1–20
Tomatoes: July 10–20

For detailed guidance, visit Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center at www.clemson.edu/hgic

Happy Gardening!