CLAYTON, CA (July 20, 2025) — Clayton Valley garden and landscape lovers are officially halfway through the growing season. Our flowering shrubs, perennials, veggies and roses could all use a touch of attention to help replenish the energy that they have used while giving us robust growth and colorful flowers.

Hydrangeas rocked in the garden this season with humongous blossoms. As your flowers begin to age and brown, it is time to tend to these beauties and remove spent flowers. The best way to do this is to follow the stem down and cut just before the new leaf swells. The older the flowers, the larger the leaf sets.

Once you have deadheaded your hydrangea, follow up with a dose of fertilizer. Use a water-soluble fertilizer for acid-loving plants. Give each pruned hydrangea two doses 30 days apart.

All of the spring blooming shrubs like azalea, escallonia, hawthorn and Loropetalum should be pruned to shape and fed as well. We always prune after bloom.

Same goes for your fruit trees. As you harvest your last apricot, prune your tree for control. Remove a third of the overall growth so your tree doesn’t overgrow in the early days of spring and weaken its structure. The same rules apply to plum, peach, nectarine and cherry. Don’t wait for fall – always prune after harvest.

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Follow up with granular type fertilizer for your trees. Apply the recommended amount per package directions, top-dress the dripline with a premium soil conditioner and water in by hand every few days to break down the product.

Spring-blooming perennials really need some tough love this time of year. Prune spring growth down to the ground for all nepeta, coreopsis, several of the mid-sized salvia, yarrow, plus freeway and Santa Barbara daisies. Apply water-soluble fertilizer and watch your perennials grow back with a lovely round of additional flowers. It is hard to prune hard, but the results are fabulous.

Veggie plants like your tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers need a healthy application of organic fertilizer and a topdressing of earthworm castings. This will correct any yellow leaves and make your veggies better able to ripen their fruit.

Roses have had a hard time this spring, with all the overcast days leading to powdery mildew. Pruning and fertilizing is a must to make your roses happy again. When removing spent roses from your trees or shrubs, prune down to a leaflet with five leaves and choose the one facing outward. Make your cut at a slight angle and prune to make the bush look balanced.

Then it’s time to fertilize. To make the most of your application, top-dress at the dripline with a premium soil conditioner. Hand water every few days to break down the fertilizer and push it into the rose’s roots.

Nicole Hackett

Garden Girl at R&M Pool, Patio, Gifts and Garden

Nicole is the Garden Girl at R&M Pool, Patio, Gifts and Garden. You can contact her with ­questions or comments by email at gardengirl94517@yahoo.com