Plant Answers  >  Gardening Calendar: June

Gardening Calendar

JUNE

Plant: Plant: Select and plant crape myrtles which are the exact color and mature plant height you want by choosing from the hybrid, disease-resistant varieties listed at: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/trees/crape_myrtle_varieties.html. Local nurserymen will also have this listing of crape myrtle characteristics. A wide variety of hot-weather-loving plants for summer color can be transplanted now such as salvia, purslane, copper plant, firespike, lantana and firebush. Late June is a good time to start seeds directly into the planting area for a fall crop of warm season vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant and peppers. It is also a good time to start summer annuals such as cockscomb, cosmos, marigolds, periwinkles, and zinnias from seed. Container-grown tree and shrubs can be selected and planted, but be certain to maintain adequate moisture in the root zone to avoid injury or death during summer's heat and dry weather. June's warm soils make this an ideal time to establish or renovate the home lawn. Bermudagrass for all sun/no shade, St. Augustine for all sun/partial shade and zoysia for all sun/partial shade all produce acceptable turfs in this area. Floratam St. Augustine (http://www.plantanswers.com/grass.htm) is the best St. Augustine for this area. Bermudagrass seed can be planted in areas which are not shaded. Try some of the hybrid bermuda seed such as Sahara or Cheyenne and remember to keep the planting moist EVERY day until seed germination occurs in 10-14 days. Vegetables to plant now will include black-eyed peas, okra, sweet corn, cucumbers, peppers, New Zealand spinach and squash.

Prune: Limited pruning is the best practice at this time of the year. Diseased or storm-damaged branches of trees should be pruned immediately, but avoid major or drastic pruning of trees through mid-summer. Prune hedges on an as-needed basis, but avoid severe pruning.

Fertilize: Fertilize again this month with a complete fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio analysis. Use one of the slow-release nitrogen forms (19-5-9,15-5-10, 20-5-10) of fertilizer for best results. Water in well following the fertilizer application. Many landscape and garden plants will exhibit symptoms of "iron deficiency"- with yellow leaves and darker green veins. This condition will only grow worse and the affected plant will decline and die if not corrected with generous quantities of iron sulfate mixed with organic material. Alkaline soils of this area of the state require frequent summer applications of iron-containing products such as Iron Plus or Green Sand to correct or prevent iron deficiency of plants. Mulches can be used to increase the availability of iron for plant uptake in the soil by making a synthetic iron chelate. If iron is applied directly to the soil, calcium in the soil causes the iron particles to be unavailable for plant uptake. Gardeners can make a synthetic chelate with mulch by mixing one cup of iron sulfate (copperas) to each bushel of mulch applied. Iron particles will adhere to the surface of the mulching material and will be released for plant use as decomposition occurs around plants. Iron sulfate treated mulches are also effective when incorporated into the soil. Iron sulfate (copperas) or chelated iron as a foliar spray can provide a rapid-but-temporary green-up. A light application of fertilizer to beds of summer annuals will give them a boast. Heavy producing vegetable crops will also benefit from supplemental fertilizer . Use two pounds (or two cups) of the slow-release fertilizer (mentioned above) evenly distributed in a 100 square feet area every three weeks.

On the Lookout: Aphids on tender, young foliage; lacebugs on pyracantha, lantana and sycamore; bagworms on junipers; stinkbugs on fruit and vegetable plants; webworms on pecan trees. Chinch bugs can appear in St. Augustine lawns (except for Floratam St. Augustine which is chinch bug resistant) anytime from now through late summer.* For photos of various insect pests and a listing of control measures, see: http://hortipm.tamu.edu/

Odd Jobs: Raise your lawn mower blade height setting to 3 inches(or as high as your mower will mow) this month for St. Augustine grass. Continue to mow Bermudagrass at 1 to 1 ½ inches throughout the summer. Use mulch generously around (but not piled on the trunks) trees, shrubs and landscape and garden plants, as well as in the vegetable garden. When watering, apply sufficient moisture to soak the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Watering early in the day is preferred to early evening or mid-day.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homelandscape/water/water.html

 

June Calendar by Dr. Tom Harris


Color
Firebush is a favorite hummingbird plant and lantanas are a great butterfly bush. Lantanas are deer resistant. Plant vincas in full sun. Shade plants include coleus, caladiums, firespike and begonias. Leave the bougainvilleas in full sun and fertilize them regularly with hibiscus food or soluble fertilizer. Moss rose and purslane are showy all month long in full sun. Remove spent flowers from perennials for more blooms. Don't let the weeds get ahead of you. Weed regularly. Keep up the fertilizer on the roses. Control spider mites with Neem Oil sprays*one tablespoon per gallon of water*applied under the leaves. Liquid Seaweed applied every 5-7 days helps control spidermite populations. House plants can be moved outside now. Sink them into the ground to help keep them from drying out so fast. As the above-ground foliage turns brown, consider digging and dividing spring-flowering perennial bulbs. They need this about every 3-4 years.

Fruits and Nuts
Peaches, apples, plums and blackberries with developing fruit must receive regular moisture or the fruit will not develop appropriately and may be dropped. Figs are especially sensitive to dry soil. After you complete the harvest of your peaches and plums, drench the trunk with Lorsban to control borers. Prune out old blackberry canes (the ones that bore fruit this year) to make way for the new canes.

Shade Trees and Shrubs
Your established trees and bushes should do well without supplemental watering. Newly planted trees, however, need deep watering by hand when the soil dries to one inch. Remember to mulch 4 inches deep around new trees BUT NOT ON TRUNKS so that they don't have to compete with grass. There are a large number of salvias available. Most species are deer resistant in some neighborhoods and drought tolerant. Keep them compact by shearing. Crape myrtles reach full bloom in June. Deadhead spent flowers for more bloom. Control aphids with acephate (Orthene) and powdery mildew with Funginex or almost any fungicide. Use a weekly spray program to protect your roses from insects and black spot. Alternate fungicide with insecticide weekly. Be sure to follow label directions. Be sure to harvest peaches when their background color changes from green to yellow. Keep fruit trees well watered if they're still producing. Cut suckers from the roots of trees*don't use herbicides such as Roundup; it will damage the mother tree as well.

Turf Grass
Irrigate the lawn grass only if it hasn't rained in the last two weeks, and then no more than 3/4 inch of water on the St. Augustine*less for Zoysia, Bermuda, and Buffalo. Water only the most important part of your lawn and let the rest go dormant until we get rain. Keep the mower blade sharp. If you had grub or chinch bug problems last year, treat the lawn at the end of the month. Follow the directions on the bag.

Vegetables
Harvest your vegetables on a regular basis to keep quality high. You can still plant southern peas, eggplant, and okra for mid-summer vegetables. Use a Bt product such as Thuricide, Dipel or Biological Worm Control to control hornworms, fruit-eating pinworms, and other caterpillars. Pull non-producing plants*especially the tomatoes--before diseases and spider mites move in. Put them in the compost pile. Powdery mildew will probably take the viney plants this month. Pull them out and wait for fall.

June Calendar by Dr. Tom Harris

Color
Firebush is a favorite hummingbird plant and Lantanas are a great butterfly bush. Lantanas are deer resistant. Plant Vincas in full sun. Shade plants include coleus, caladiums, firespike and begonias. Leave the bougainvilleas in full sun and fertilize them regularly with hibiscus food or soluble fertilizer. Moss rose and purslane are showy all month long in full sun. Remove spent flowers from perennials for more blooms. Don't let the weeds get ahead of you. Weed regularly. Keep up the fertilizer on the roses. Control spider mites with soap sprays-one tablespoon per gallon of water-applied under the leaves.
House plants can be moved outside now. Sink them into the ground to help keep them from drying out so fast. As the above-ground foliage turns brown, consider digging and dividing spring-flowering perennial bulbs. They need this about every 3-4 years to keep on producing the flowers you thought you bought.

Fruits and Nuts
Peaches, apples, plums and blackberries with developing fruit must receive regular moisture or the fruit will not develop appropriately and may be dropped. Figs are especially sensitive to dry soil. Prune out old blackberry canes (the ones that bore fruit this year) to make way for the new canes.

Shade Trees and Shrubs
Your established trees and bushes should do well without supplemental watering. Newly planted trees, however, need deep watering by hand when the soil dries to one inch. Remember to mulch 4 inches deep around new trees so that they don't have to compete with grass. There are a large number of salvias available. Most species are deer resistant in some neighborhoods and drought tolerant. Keep them compact by shearing. Crape myrtles reach full bloom in June. Deadhead spent flowers for more bloom. Control aphids with acephate (Orthene) and powdery mildew with Funginex or almost any fungicide. Use a weekly spray program to protect your roses from insects and black spot. Alternate fungicide with insecticide weekly. Be sure to follow label directions. Be sure to harvest peaches when their back ground color changes from green to yellow. Keep fruit trees well watered if they're still producing. Cut suckers from the roots of trees-don't use Roundup; it could damage the mother tree as well.

Turf Grass
Irrigate the lawn grass only if it hasn't rained in the last two weeks, and then add an inch of water on the St. Augustine-less for Zoysia, Bermuda, and Buffalo. Water only the most important part of your lawn and let the rest go dormant until we get rain. Keep the mower blade sharp. If you had grub or chinch bug problems last year, treat the lawn at the end of the month. Follow the directions on the bag.

Vegetables
Harvest your vegetables on a regular basis to keep quality high. You can still plant southern peas, eggplant, and okra for mid-summer vegetables. Use Bt to control hornworms, fruit-eating pinworms, and other caterpillars. Use bags of oak leaves for mulch. Pull non-producing plants-especially the tomatoes--before diseases and spider mites move in. Put them in the compost pile. Powdery mildew will probably take the vine plants this month. Pull them out and wait for fall to replant.

 

Copyright © 2024 PLANTanswers.com - All Rights Reserved. PLANTanswers and PLANTanswers.com are trademarks of Jerry Parsons.