Ed Hutchison, of Midland, writes a weekly spring gardening column for the Midland Daily News. He can be reached at edhutchison@mac.com.

Today, let’s focus on “stuff and things” now underway outside as July kicks into full gear. 

Consider these as simply strong seasonal tips: 

Please do not prune oak trees on your property, no matter how badly it may be needed.  Instead, wait until the tree is dormant this fall and winter.  Why not now?

It is because fresh pruning leaves a wound that runs with sap; much as we bleed from a cut.  Small beetles, carrying a fungal disease (Ceratocystis fagacearum) from infected trees elsewhere, are attracted to the sap and feed on it, thus releasing fungal spores into the vascular system of the unaffected tree.  

The tree reacts by “walling off” spread of the disease by plugging cells, causing the branches to wilt – thus the common name:  Oak wilt.  An infected tree can be saved but doing so often means help from a certified arborist and lab tests; with Michigan State’s lab readily available at (https://www.canr.msu.edu/pestid/)

Disclosure:  Of all the trees “out there,” the oak family is my favorite for reasons likely to fill 10 more columns.

Water grass for green summer lawn – or not?  I do so as I believe a lawn kept healthy (watered) over the summer is environmentally sound, especially living in Midland and its fresh water supply.  A good friend, Roger Ferguson, disagrees on environmental concerns. 

A healthy, growing lawn is its best natural defense to problems with weeds and lesser so, disease.  And it looks terrific.  When a lawn goes dormant (as many are now) because of hotter weather and less water, weed seeds already present find a welcoming environment and most do not need much moisture to germinate and prosper.

Whichever route is chosen – green or dormant – maintain the pace and by late August, rainfall and cooler temperatures usually  intercede and grass greens up by itself.  

Summer-weary petunias and such?  Now past their “at home” rapid growth, consider foliar-feeding annuals – zinnias, marigolds, impatiens, petunias – the whole lot of them.   This is best  done with a hose-end sprayer that meters water with fertilizer.  Miracle-Gro has several types.  I like the one that attaches to the hose and a bottle of liquid fertilizer that screws into the sprayer.

Miracle-Gro offers a general purpose liquid fertilizer and a “Bloom Booster” variety that has blends of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium that short—lived plants like annuals need to continue strong blooming.   I use this on my many annuals, drenching the plants and the surrounding soil.  As with any garden chemical, please read and heed label instructions.

We’ll return to the “water lawn or go dormant?” discussion in a future column as it merits a more thorough look about use of precious resources – water – and the inherent and botanical value to do so.  It is a far more nuanced question than is posed here. 

Ed Hutchison, of Midland writes a weekly spring gardening column for the Midland Daily News. He can be reached at edhutchison@mac.com.