Hi Gardeners!

Welcome back to the garden. At this writing, we've just passed the summer solstice here in the US -- June 20 (or 21st depending on which gardener you talk to) is the longest day of the year where we get the most sun for our gardens.

At the beginning of June the East Coast suffered from blistering August-like heat that was advantageous in many gardens. That heat caused plants like tomatoes, zucchini and cukes to shoot up several inches in just a few days. However, we've also been dealing with smoke from the wildfires in Great Dismal Swamp which isn't good for anything -- human or plant.

California has also been experiencing wildfires, forcing many out of their homes and destroying acres of trees and gardens. Fires are a part of nature but this many of them wreaks havoc on the balance of life.

This month we're going to look at Japanese beetles and how to safely combat them, sun coleus, and an update on the pots I started last month to cover a bare patch in my landscape.

Okay, let's dig in. :-)

On Monday your roses and tomatoes are doing well. The plants are thriving with deep green foliage and beautiful flowers and fruit.

By Tuesday your gorgeous foliage looks like a lace doily and the plants are starting to die.

What happened?

Japanese beetles are what happened, friend, and they're the bane of many a gardener's existence. How do you spot them? They're very distinctive: a metallic green head with a copper colored body.

And they LOVE to munch on your plants!

Adult beetles eat the tissue in between veins on the leaves and can deep six a plant overnight.

So how does the infestation start? The first beetles begin their feeding frenzy right away. While they're enjoying their smorgasbord, an odor an odor is released to attract later-emerging adults and, without warning, tons of beetles call a single plant their buffet.

Within hours, females release a sex pheromone giving the free for all call to more beetles. A few days later, those same females dig into the ground to lay eggs, then return to eating your plants. This cycle occurs until 40-60 eggs have been laid.

There are those out there who suggest hanging pheromone traps to draw beetles in and trap them in a bright yellow bag. I think it just attracts more beetles.  The best thing I've seen to control Japanese beetles is to fill a container with hot water and dish soap and shake them into it.  The way to do this is to go out to the plants where you see them feeding (they usually feed the heaviest in the evening), take hold of the leaves they're feeding on and shake them into the container of hot soapy water. The soapy water will drown them.

I've been planting coleus in my garden's shady spots -- along with impatiens -- for years. Shade was the favorite place for coleus because of color fade out. Yeah, traditional coleus just can't stand full sun and still have vibrant color.

But all that has changed thanks to a new variety called sun coleus.

Garden trials in the US in the past 10 years revealed sun-tolerant cultivars which have helped coleus gain favor again with gardeners.

If you've never grown it before, it's an easy plant to take care of. It likes to have moist soil and its grown for the foliage not the flower spike that shoots up from the center.

It's great paired with impatiens -- if you're planting sun coleus in direct sun make sure you use New Guinea impatiens -- caladium, and elephant ear. I personally love the black variety of elephant ear.

Here are some tips for planting and maintaining coleus:

• Well-drained soil is a must for proper coleus growth
• Fertilize once a month
• Give coleus plants between 12 and 18 inches to grow. Muclhing helps keep weeds down and moisture in but if you interplant in a pot with impatiens you won't have to worry about mulching.
• Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
• Remove the flower buds and pinch out the center stem when the plant is 4 to 6 inches tall for more bushiness.
• It's easy to root cuttings. Clip one of the top stems just before last frost, dip in rooting hormone and plant in soilless mix. It should root in about a week to 10 days. Make sure the stem is at least 3 inches long and remove the bottom leaves first.
• Spindly plants can be fixed by pinching out the top stem.
• Yellow stippling on leaves means you have a mite problem. Knock them off the underside of leaves with a shot of cold water. Do this in the morning to give leaves time to dry.

• Small plants and poor color might mean a whitefly infestation. Stop it with an insecticidal soap like Safer Soap.

Last month I posted a couple of pictures of some new pots I'd recently bought to cover a bare patch in my landscape. For those who are new to The Frugal Gardener, here's what they looked like then:

And here's what they look like now:

My husband Matt built some supports for the tomato plants. In the right center of the photo, you can see the Beefsteak tomato plant going for the sky.

I used Miracle-Gro potting soil with 3 months of feeding and moisture control. I've found this to be the best potting soil on the market and worth the price (around $10 for 2 cubic feet).

Do you have a question or suggestion for us? If so, please shoot an email and we'll feature your question or suggestion in t he next issue!

• Keep the garden free from dead leaves and foliage to keep the spread of fungus down
• Remember to water your plants deeply as the weather zooms into the dogs days of summer
• Deadhead marigolds, daisies and black eyed susans. You can take the dead heads of daisies and black eyed susans and place them in the garden where you'd like them to grow next year and you should see a fresh crop come up
• Enjoy your garden!

Well, that's it for this issue. It's evening now and I'm off to water the garden. While you're out in yours, take the time to notice what's working and what isn't. And if a neighbor has something growing that you'd like to try, ask for a cutting to root or find out where s/he got the plant. Experiment! Try something new this fall or next season.

Most of all, have fun!

See you this time next month.

Yours for a more bountiful garden,

Victoria
The Frugal Gardener