Garden plots beckon, even in the sizzling sunshine

August WOULD SEEM

to be an unlikely month for doing much of anything in the garden other than water, water, water. It’s hot and many plants are in a semi-dormant summer state, but there are a few chores best done in August, before the weather begins to cool.

Divide or they fall

The sweet potato-like rhizomes of bearded iris need to be divided every three or so years if they are to continue blooming well and standing tall. Coastal gardeners can start in June or July. Inland, the favored time is August into September. Dig up the rhizomes with a spading fork and shake all the soil from the roots. Cut back the leaves to about 3 inches and the roots to about 6. Discard old rhizomes and replant the fat, healthy ones facing in the direction they are to grow. Space about 12 inches apart and bury most of the rhizome, but don’t cover the top with dirt. Make sure clumps will grow apart and not into themselves.

Moving naked ladies

This fanciful name comes from the fact that Amaryllis belladonna blooms in late summer, after the leaves have shriveled and before new ones grow in winter. During or right after bloom is the best time to move or plant the fat bulbs. At least half of the bulbs naturally stand sentry-like above the soil, so don’t bury them. Unlike iris, they don’t have to be divided to thrive, and plants need very little care and virtually no water -- old clumps can be found blooming in bone-dry cow pastures marking where a home once stood. You might want to search adventuresome nurseries for some of the bigger and brighter blooms that have been developed in recent years.

For very late tomatoes

In mild areas where hard frost is unlikely, it’s possible to have tomatoes growing though winter, though the skins will get thicker and thicker as the weather cools. ‘Champion’, ‘Celebrity’ and ‘Sweet 100’ are varieties that can be planted now that will produce in winter. Plant more vines than in spring because individual plants won’t make nearly as much fruit.

Weed it or weep

Don’t let weeds make seed or they’ll be back with a vengeance next summer. Warm season weeds can have many generations, so keep on top of them. Things like the succulent chickweed or the flat, spreading spurge come back time and again and seem to double in size overnight. Fortunately, most of these weeds are annuals and can simply be scraped off with a hoe. Do so early in the day and the weed tops will shrivel in the midday sun.

Start seed

The hot weather will quickly germinate seed, so if you want to try growing vegetables, flowers or even shrubs from seed started in old nursery containers, now is the time to give it a shot. Pick a partially shaded spot and keep seed moist, being careful not to bury it too deep (the old rule of thumb is twice as deep as the seed is fat). The timing is also perfect since young plants will be just old enough to plant out into the garden in fall and winter, our most sure-fire planting season.

Sweet peas by Christmas

In old-time garden books, a yearly goal was to get sweet peas in bloom by the holidays so the California gardener could impress the folks visiting from back East. And they always recommended planting before Labor Day, even as far inland as San Bernardino.

Ready, set

...

The best planting season of the year is right around the corner. Beginning about mid-September for some things and mid-October for others, you can plant just about anything in the fall and it will grow faster and stronger than at other times of the year, with less care and water from the gardener. Late October into January is the absolutely best time (some would say the only time) to plant California natives and other Mediterranean, water-thrifty plants.

So much is best done in the cooling autumn months that it’s wise to begin planning now and to start preparing, like an athlete for the Olympics.