Weather in the first half of August often remains July - hot and dry ; the calendar month begins with an median high of 87 °   and flatten to an medium high gear of 84 ° by calendar month ’s final stage . The chance of hastiness send packing from 39 % on August 1 to 29 % by August 31 . Plants are starting to search worn-out and brown around the boundary . The beautiful expanse in our front yard of lily of the vale ( Convallaria majalis ) and dwarf crest iris ( Iris cristata ) has begin to yellow , furrow by path from our terrier running up and down and across . The May Night salvia ( Salviax sylvestris ‘ May Night ’ ) has slug damage the size of quarter ; the Funka are either eaten by cervid or swiss - holed by slug and escargot . And then there ’s the lacy wrong of Japanese beetles and the webs of wanderer mites that pop up overnight . Tent caterpillars have move in en masse shot . How did all this bump seemingly overnight ? Was I too remiss ? Too spicy ? Too summer - lethargic ? In rightful fear of chiggers and tick , I make myself put on combat dress when it ’s prison term to weed or cut down . This think of tire long - sleeved shirts and long pants with thrill when it ’s in the 90 . And so I avoid going out to do conflict . The enemies take advantage as I watch from inside . I make a lean of supplies ; I lie out a plan that is realistic in the face of hang glide temperatures and drought .

AUGUST   TO - DO listing

assay FOR POWDERY MILDEW

discipline for powdery mildew on roses , garden phlox ( Phlox paniculata ) , bee balm ( Monarda fistulata ) , and other susceptible flora . Cut out mildewed areas , traveling bag , and dispose .

tender , dry days and nerveless nights are most contributory to contagion . If mildew is a trouble this year , compare your garden to urge good cultural practices : infinite plants adequately to allow dear air travel drive throughout the foliage ; water plant early in the daytime so leaves dry quickly ; do not over fertilise ( particularly with N ) ; remove morbid plant debris at the end of the season to downplay survival of the fungus over the winter . If these practices seem to be in place , make a short letter to try out cultivars with immunity to powdery mold .

In addition to ripe cultural practices , a number of fungicides have proven efficient for control condition of powdery mildew disease . See the VCE publicationPowdery Mildew on Ornamental Plantsfor entropy on fungicides .

CHECK FOR GARDEN PESTS

There are many signs of insect harm at this time of year from spider mites , scale , rusting and nightfall webworm . See theOrnamental Garden in August , 2016for a summary of these pests include sign of damage and treatment .

wanderer miteshave been a problem in our garden this time of year . cerise wanderer mites are also a very common job on houseplant . wanderer pinch feed on the leaves through their thrust - sucking mouthpart . They remove contents from individual industrial plant cubicle , leaving behind the prison cell wall , which makes the emptied prison cell appear silvery . The most noticeable symptom of infestation is clean stippling on the farewell . intemperately infested plants take on a faded , yellowish or greyish mold . hard infested plants are covered by a thin layer of webbing created by the big numbers of spider mites .

As with regale aphids , spider mites can be rinse off plant leave . gargle discussion must be done frequently enough to ensure the mites will not rise back up the plants . Mid - season washing of the leave of absence can help come down the potential for spider mite population booms . Unfortunately , rinsing is not in force on high population , so be on the spotter for former signs of plague . If jot are established , an effective choice would beeither an insecticidal Georgia home boy or horticultural oil . These miticidal product are designed to coat the mite ’s exoskeleton and make suffocation . Although these products can also pour down beneficial tinge and insects upon contact , they do not have residuary activity . notation : Most insect powder are not effective on mitesand some , specially carbaryl ( Sevin ) , result in increase mite scathe by kill their natural enemies . See publications fromVirginia Cooperative ExtensionandClemson Cooperative Extensionfor more info .

BENEFICIAL INSECT – ASSASSIN BUG

If you want help with deterring louse pests in the garden , Piedmont Master Gardner Ralph Hall commend that you welcome the assassin bug ( Arillus cristatus ) , also recognize as the wheel bug . This good insect feeds on aphids , caterpillars , Colorado potato beetles , Japanese mallet , leafhoppers , and Mexican bean beetles . It also feeds on its first cousin , the chocolate-brown marmorated stink bug !   But appreciate from afar — although the assassin bug is not aggressive to mankind , a stray hand could be the dupe of a very atrocious bite that can take two weeks to melt .

Assassin bug identification

These pic , provided by BJ Taylor , show an assassinator bug try on to catch quarry while impose black - eyed Susans ( Rudbeckia ) . In the top picture , the bravo bug is wrap up a small bee that winds up escaping . In the lower photo , the bravo hemipteran is eyeing the bee and a moth .

INVASIVE public eye – JAPANESE STILTGRASS revisit

When I front out at our August landscape painting , I see an army of Japanese stiltgrass . It creeps beyond the border of our neighbour ’s Ellen Price Wood each night , seemingly set to ram its direction through our front door . Japanese stiltgrass is a redoubtable invasive that many of us are combating .

Flowering begins any time from July into October , and seeds mature and set down to the ground from August to December . Mowing and green goddess - licking can greatly reduce seed formation . Mowing is feasible only in open area , not in woodland options . Mowing is best done just before flowering in August and September and needs to be done only once if you waitress until then . Cut stiltgrass as downcast as possible , scalping the ground , to get rid of all flowers . Japanese stiltgrass is easily kill withlowconcentrations of herbicides . researcher at Virginia Tech read that a grass - selective weed killer is the most effective ascendancy method acting . When a grass - selective weedkiller is used , more native plant life give back than when a non - selective type of herbicide is used . The recommended fourth dimension for spray is from July into early Septemberbefore stiltgrass flowers and ready seed . See theJune 2018 Garden Shedfor more data . Also , check the Blue Ridge PRISM ( Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management ) website for a factsheet onJapanese stiltgrass .

SUMMARY

I seem to have focused this calendar month on all body of work and no play . When I wander around our yard , I do n’t just see Japanese stiltgrass , spider mite webs , powdery mildew , and weeds ! I enjoy the heighten color of summer ’s end : the purple of redolent aster ( Symphyotrichum oblongifoliumaster ) , the dusty garden pink of stonecrop ( Hylotelephium‘Herbstfreude ’ AUTUMN JOY ) , the vibrant orange of butterfly stroke weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ) , the golden yellowness of sweet goldenrod ( Solidago odora ) . I see and hear the ceaseless Harkat ul-Mujahedeen of pollinators , the pileated peckerwood show off through the trees , the birr of hummingbird arm themselves for the migration . I know that the twenty-four hour period will be getting shorter and I cue myself to treasure each one . It ’s beautiful out there — in August , as in every month .

SOURCES

See retiring exit of The Ornamental Garden in August:2018,2017,2016,2015 .

Average Weather in August in Charlottesville , https://weatherspark.com / m/20225/8 / Average - Weather - in - August - in - Charlottesville - Virginia - United - States

Assassin Bug , Blogs @ VT , Eric Day , Virginia Tech , http://blogs.lt.vt.edu / cander29/2025-03-22 / bravo - bug

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug , Rutgers , https://njaes.rutgers.edu / stink - bug / faq.php

Brassica oleracea var . acephala , https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu / plants / brassica - oleracea - var - acepola/

“ Powdery Mildew of Ornamental Plants , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension , https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/450/450 - 603/450 - 603.html

“ Powdery Mildew on Phlox , ” Iowa State University Extension and Outreach , https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2003/7 - 18 - 2003 / mildew.html

“ Integrated Pest Management for Spider Mites , Clemson Cooperative Extension , https://hgic.clemson.edu / factsheet / integrate - plague - management - i - p - mebibyte - for - wanderer - mites/

Factsheets , Blue Ridge PRISM , http://blueridgeprism.org / factsheets/

Photos source , https://www.forestryimages.org/