Timely Tips

What to Do in July 2025
Weekly Gardening Timely Tips from
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County

July 1

Perennials and Flowers: Last call to pinch asters, mums, and other late blooming flowers to encourage bushy plants come fall. For the rest of the summer, let them fill out and set buds. Clean up faded, browning or diseased foliage and deadhead (remove) spent flowers that do not provide seed for birds or have ornamental seedcases that will last for winter interest. It’s best to leave upright hollow stems with nesting solitary bees. If you must remove these stems for aesthetic reasons, you can place them with the tops upright somewhere they will not be obvious.Young spotted lanternfly nymphs are still feeding on perennials and other herbaceous plants. Be on the lookout for this invasive pest. See Spotted Lanternfly | CALS (cornell.edu) for more information.

Fruits and Vegetables:When garlic has 4 or 5 green leaves remaining, it’s time to harvest. Remove the withered outer leaves and hang or dry the bulbs in one layer in a shady, protected place. An airy shed or garage is ideal. When fully dried, trim off the roots. The tops may be trimmed to an inch or so, or left intact for braiding. Continue harvesting early crops. If you have empty space in the garden, you can fill it with fast-growing vegetables for a fall harvest: string beans and edible soybeans (check days to maturity), carrots, Swiss chard and fast-maturing summer squash. Keep an eye on ripening cherries so you can harvest them before the birds take all. Well-secured bird-proof netting may be used on small trees. If you haven’t already done so, prune out old, spent raspberry fruiting canes.

Trees and Shrubs: Last call to prune many spring-flowering deciduous shrubs. Learn the best time to prune specific shrubs to avoid removing flower buds that are now set to open next spring. You may neaten up evergreen hedges and evergreen trees if there are a few unruly stems sticking out here and there. Avoid exposing tender leaves/needles that are protected by outer foliage as these may burn in the summer sun.

Lawns: This past spring trended toward cool and wet weather, and many cool season lawns have responded accordingly with robust growth. To regulate the rate of growth, you can mow approximately on a 2 week schedule: when the grass has grown about 5 inches tall, cut it back to 3½ inches. As the weather warms and growth slows down further or stops, you can mow even less often, or not at all.

Houseplants: Continue to assess the growth of your houseplants and other container plants. Check at least daily and water as needed to keep containers from drying out. If the plants are outdoors, you might need to water more than once a day if the top inch or two of the potting mix feels dry. When plants need to be watered often, they may benefit from fertilizer to replace nutrients that are leached away. Follow fertilizer label directions.

Last updated June 30, 2025