This is a good month for air layering or ground layering.  Trees are in vigorous growth and soil and air temperatures are very warm which should increase the success in both types of layering.  You can still take cuttings of this years' growth that has hardened off with excellent chances of success.  Just be certain to keep your cutting box in the shade.  Refer to the section on bonsai plant material for proper timing and medium for rooting cuttings.

If you planted seeds in the spring now would be an excellent time to transplant your seedlings into individual pots as long as they have developed true leaves.

Moisture loving plants such as Bald Cypress, Willow, Wisteria and Alders can be placed in trays or basins of water to keep their roots cool during the heat of summer and provide humidity for their leaves.  Remove from trays or basins in mid‑September.

It is also a good time to practice sanitation around your plants by removing all dead flowers from azaleas, rhododendrons and other flowering plants.  This will help to prevent flower blight from over‑wintering in your garden.

It is advisable to use a soil insecticide this month to reduce soil insect activity.  You can use either liquid Dursban or Diazinon at a rate of 1 to 2 teaspoons per gallon of water as a soil drench to control soil insects in bonsai plantings.  You should repeat this soil drench just prior to over‑wintering your bonsai in enclosures such as cold‑frames, greenhouses, un‑heated basements or garages.

TRANSPLANT/ROOT PRUNE:

Azaleas ‑ keep in shade for two weeks after transplanting.  Buttonwood, Pyracantha, Tropicals.  Elm, Hornbeam, Maples, and Zelkova can be transplanted and root pruned immediately after leaf pruning provided trees are healthy and had been fertilized two weeks prior to leaf pruning.

BRANCH PRUNE:

Birch, Cedar, Cryptomeria, Pomegranate, Willow, Witch Hazel ‑ after leaves have hardened. 

TRIM/PINCH NEW GROWTH:

Buttonwood, Bald Cypress, Cedar, Fig (ficus), Fir, Hemlock, Juniper, Maple ‑ Trident, Pine ‑ black, Quince ‑ Japanese ‑ long shoots, Podacarpus, Tropicals, Wisteria ‑ late July ‑ trim with scissors after blossom withers but before new buds harden.

LEAF PRUNE:

Bamboo ‑ close to the ground, Birch, Elm, Ginkgo, Holly ‑ deciduous, Hornbeam, Maples, Privet, Quince, Willow, Zelkova.  All trees should be in good health and fertilized at least two weeks before leaf‑pruning. 

FERTILIZE:

It is best not to fertilize this month if the weather gets too hot, however, if necessary, use a diluted water soluble fertilizer at 1/4 of the manufacturer's recommended label strength.  The following plant material can be safely fertilized this month: Beech, Buttonwood, Crape Myrtle, Fig (ficus), Ginkgo, Rhododendron, and Tropicals using a diluted fertilizer solution as above.

WIRE:

Apple ‑ after shoots become woody, Azalea, Birch, Boxwood, Buttonwood, Citrus, Cotoneaster, Crabapple ‑ after new shoots become woody, Crape Myrtle ‑ after new growth has hardened, Elaeagnus, Elm, Fig (ficus), Gardenia ‑ as shoots become woody, Hackberry ‑ after shoots harden, Hawthorn, Holly ‑ new growth only ‑ old wood too brittle, Honey Locust ‑ late July, Hornbeam ‑ after shoots harden, Jasmine ‑ winter, Maple ‑ All ‑ after new growth has hardened, Mountain Laurel ‑ after shoots harden, Oak, Podacarpus, Pomegranate, Privet, Pyracantha, Quince, Sasanqua, Serviceberry ‑ after new growth becomes woody, Sweetgum ‑ after new growth hardens, Tamarix, Tropicals, Zelkova.