Extension Service Garden Hints

Save summer weeding and watering

Nobody seems to like weeding too much. And by mid-summer, watering gets a little old, too.

So give yourself and your plants a break this summer. Use organic mulches around your ornamental shrubs, fruiting trees, vines and perennial flowers.

Whether you choose shredded bark, well-rotted sawdust, last fall's leaves or thoroughly dry grass clippings, an organic mulch will help keep weeds down, insulate the soil from excess summer heat and hold moisture in, explained Ross Penhallegon, horticulture agent with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

Shrubs like roses, azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangeas do best when their roots are kept cool and moist. Mulching around the base helps them thrive during the hot, dry summer months.

Flowers such as lilies and dahlias will do better with mulching also, advised Penhallegon. Blueberry bushes send out roots along the soil surface, and they appreciate a thick layer of well-rotted sawdust. Caneberries will benefit from organic mulches, too.

Avoid mulching with hay, especially ryegrass straw. It has too many seeds that will eventually sprout and will create a serious weed problem.

And don't use grass clippings from a lawn treated with a weed-and-feed preparation. The herbicide will stay in the clippings and can damage your shrubs.

By: Carol Savonen
Source: Ross Penhallegon

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