Extreme weather conditions, such as abnormal climate, continuous high-temperature scorching, and local heavy rainfall, are on the rise. This poses a double challenge to plants and maintenance work. In addition to watering, sun protection, and pest and disease control on lawns, attention must also be paid to post-rain repair. Today, we have compiled a super practical garden maintenance guide to help you with the key aspects!
Choose the Right Watering Time Reasonably
Watering Time: With the continuous high-temperature weather, it is necessary to ensure the water demand of garden plants. The golden irrigation period is from 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. every day. At this time, the evaporation is the smallest, the water temperature is close to the soil temperature, and the water can infiltrate and be absorbed to the greatest extent. It is strictly forbidden to water during the high-temperature period from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., as it is easy to cause burns and high-temperature evaporation.
Watering Amount: In principle, watering should be done thoroughly at one time, and attention should be paid to ventilation to avoid root rot. For some water-deficient areas or newly planted trees, drip irrigation bags can be preferred for water supplement, which is efficient and water-saving. For large-area lawns or hedges, automatic sprinkler systems can be used if conditions permit.
Moderate Pruning for Ventilation and Light Transmission
For arbors, the main focus is on thinning branches. It is crucial to remove overcrowded branches in the inner chamber, crossing branches, diseased and insect-infested branches, dead branches, and overhanging branches that affect traffic or safety. Avoid heavy pruning and retain enough leaf canopy for shading and cooling.
For shrubs and hedges: On the basis of maintaining the outline, focus on thinning the overcrowded branches inside to improve ventilation and reduce the breeding of diseases and pests.
For lawns: It is recommended to increase the mowing height. For cool-season grasses, it is advisable to be 8-10 cm; for warm-season grasses, 5-7 cm. Increasing the number of leaves helps in drought resistance and weed suppression. Pruning should be done in the cool and dry early morning, avoiding high temperatures or after rain.
Pay Attention to Sun Protection and Post-Rain Repair
Sun Protection: Newly planted and sun-intolerant arbors should use sunshade nets, and the trunks can be wrapped with breathable straw ropes or non-woven fabrics.
Heavy Rain Repair: Emergency plans should be prepared, pay close attention to meteorological warnings, and check and clear drainage ditches, catchment wells, etc. in advance to ensure the smooth flow of the drainage system. Remove stagnant water in low-lying green spaces and tree pits as soon as possible after rain. If the stagnant water lasts for more than 24 hours, the roots will suffocate and die! Timely remove debris and sludge hanging on the branches and trunks.
For lodging and tilted trees, straighten them in time, prune broken roots and branches, expand tree pits, replace with loose soil, and set up firm supports.
Intertillage and Loosening Soil: When the soil is slightly dry and does not stick to tools, carry out shallow intertillage (depth 5-10 cm) to break up compaction and restore air permeability.
Disinfection and Root Promotion: For damaged root areas, fungicides can be watered to prevent root rot, and rooting agents can be used to promote the germination of new roots. During the tree recovery period, Bifu foliar fertilizer can be sprayed on the leaves to supplement nutrition and enhance stress resistance.
Pest and Disease Control
This month, focus should be on pests such as the American white moth, slug moth, inchworm, aphid, whitefly, red spider, and longhorn beetle, as well as diseases such as powdery mildew, black spot, anthracnose, brown spot (lawn), and rot.
Control Methods:
- For leaf-eating pests: For leaf-eating pests such as slug moths and inchworms, first manually cut off the web nests, then choose Caopinglong Chujie or Chucong, dilute with water and spray. The effect is best when using the medicine during the low-age larval stage of the pests.
- For piercing-sucking pests: The number of aphids, whiteflies, etc. will decrease on rainy and windy days, but high-temperature weather is conducive to the occurrence of such pests. You can choose Caopinglong Yicha, dilute with water and spray on the front and back of the leaves. For red spiders, use abamectin spirodiclofen for control.
- For trunk-boring pests: Longhorn beetles are frequently harmful in summer but are not easy to find, making control difficult! Pay close attention to the occurrence of such boring pests, seize the best control period, and use drugs such as Shaniu set to reduce such damage.
For diseases: Diseases are more likely to occur under high temperature and high humidity conditions. Therefore, after rain, strengthen inspections, and spray Jiejin or Xiubailv in time when diseases are found to avoid further spread of diseases. Usually, strengthen the maintenance and management of plants, and regularly spray protective fungicides such as Bansha to reduce the occurrence of diseases.
Weed Control
In summer, weeds are mainly gramineous (such as crabgrass, goosegrass, thatch) and cyperaceous (nutgrass flatsedge) weeds. Especially after rain, weeds are more likely to grow wildly and are difficult to remove. The principle of weeding is to “remove early, small, and completely”. If the weeds are too tall, they should be pruned first, and then sprayed on a rain-free day after 3 days.