It can be grown as a small shrub/tree form or as an espalier. The bright, fleshy red blossoms are quite stunning to look at. The different varieties of fruit are even more showy (and wonderful to eat).

Pomegranates need full sun and love heat. They can be in part shade, but the flower/fruit production will increase in the sun. They perform best with seasonal feedings in November and March each year. Maintain a good amount of mulch or compost under the plant out to its drip line to help soil stay moist and prevent fruit splitting. This will maintain a healthy pomegranate and encourage fruiting.

You can grow pomegranate as a small-scale, multi-stemmed tree. It is beautiful enough to hold its own as a specimen plant in the garden. Pomegranates also are very showy when grown in espalier form on a wall of your home, garden or fence. The fruit not only tastes great but has many health benefits, too. It's the perfect time to plant pomegranates, so come in and get yours today!

The Fourth of July is around the corner. Create an Independence Day planter in red, white, and blue! For reds: try verbena, petunia, Sweet William, or salvia. For blues: Bachelor's button, salvia, petunia, or lobelia. For whites: alyssum, petunia, candytuft.

Now...on to the July tasks in your gardens!

Planting
You can still plant some annuals and perennials in your summer gardens. For annuals, try marigolds, portulaca, and zinnias for that huge splash of color. For perennials, and even more color, plant coreopsis, gaura, rudbeckias (Irish Eyes, etc), salvias, and many more.

Tropical plants are popular now and can be brought into any garden, whether tropical, cottage, or country themes. Flowering shrubs include hibiscus, brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet), canna, bougainvillea, and vines such as passion flower or Burmese honeysuckle. Large-leaf evergreens include philodendrons, xanadu, tree ferns, and gingers. You can even include abutilon, which comes in several colors including red, yellow, orange, and pink.

Harvesting
You are probably busy harvesting and enjoying your summer vegetables like green beans, tomatoes, eggplant, squashes, and peppers. You can also continue to plant these veggies to extend your crop harvest.

Maintenance
We all have been experiencing a major "pest" time in our gardens. Those holes in your rose leaves are from the rose slug. Aphids love the rose buds, and more. You can wash off these pests with water. You can also use Bayer Advanced All-In-One Rose & Flower Care. Caterpillars are abundant; try a spray containing Bt. And we can't forget snails — they won't let us. We recommend Monterey Sluggo for snails and slugs.

It's feeding time for your flowerbeds, roses, vegetables, citrus and warm-season lawns. Come in and ask one of us what fertilizers will be best for each of your plant needs. We offer a wide selection of fertilizers: multipurpose, organic, and slow release.

You can do some pruning, even though it's summertime. Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister,' gaura, and salvias will look much better if cut back by about 1/3. Oh...and your catmint, too.

If you forgot to increase your watering from the spring months, you must do so now. Trees (non-citrus) and shrubs will need deep soaks once each month in the summer, and regular irrigation in between. Citrus and your flowerbeds need regular weekly watering.

Those of you growing tomatoes and peppers, watch for tomato hornworms. They will need to be hand-picked from your foliage.

As usual, mulch, mulch, mulch! We will always tell you to mulch. This does not mean mound up the mulch to 5 feet. It means continue to replenish the mulch and maintain a 2-4 inch blanket over your soil. So when you hear us singing the MULCH song, you know just what we mean!

And last, but not least, have a very Happy Independence Day!

Blossom end rot is a sunken, dark area on the blossom end of the fruit, at the end opposite the stem. As the fruit develops, the rot area enlarges and can grow mold in the damaged area.

A number of factors can contribute to blossom end rot, in addition to calcium deficiency. These include irregular watering, soil mineral imbalance, root damage, broad temperature swings, or even high soil salt content. To compensate for some of these, deep water regularly instead of lightly watering daily; mulch to keep moisture in the soil; avoid high nitrogen foods that encourage foliage growth but not flower growth; avoid using fresh manure (once the plants are in the garden) because it is high in salt content.

But most important of all is the lack of calcium in the soil. To prevent blossom end rot, feed your vegetables regularly with a vegetable food high in calcium, such as Dr. Earth Organic 5 Tomato, Vegetable and Herb Fertilizer. On existing plants showing blossom end rot, spray the foliage and fruit with a calcium spray, such as Bonide Tomato and Blossom Set Spray.

The fruit is ripening on your backyard fruit trees and the vegetables in your garden are looking really good. You're starting to anticipate a fabulous harvest. Unfortunately, so are the birds, squirrels and other critters. If you are unwilling to share your garden with your winged and animal friends, consider covering your tree with fruit tree netting. Fruit tree netting is easy to install.

For Fruit Trees
Wrap fabric around or drape over your trees (for tall trees, use a pole to lift the netting over tree-tops). Gather it at the trunk and secure it with twist ties. Just roll back edge of netting for easy harvesting.

For Vegetable Gardens, Grapes, or Berries
Simply drape fabric over garden and secure with stakes, or weigh down the corners with heavy objects. To protect seeds, seedlings, and upright plants, elevate netting 6" or more above the ground using stakes, wire, etc. Lift the netting for easy harvesting.
Fruit tree netting is not only durable and lightweight, but also strong enough to protect your garden from thieving birds and other garden pests. It's a safe alternative to chemicals and is reusable season after season. Pick some up today and protect your much anticipated harvest.