June lawn and gardening tips:

Have extra annuals about and need a way to use them? Plant them in pots, cans or planters. Or give them as gifts for apartment or condo dwellers who do not have room to grow their own plants.

 

Plant pumpkins in June to be ready for Halloween. Use plants that you have started or direct seed in the garden. Remember, these become huge plants unless you are growing the bush types. Leave them plenty of room in your garden.

House Plants: Newly purchased houseplants do not need repotting. They will grow very nicely in the original pot for 1 or 2 seasons. Repot them when they become pot-bound or when they need dividing.

 

House Plants: Each time you water the plants, inspect them for insect or disease damage. Remove yellow leaves.

 

House Plants: Watering houseplants in the summer is challenging. They need water but are easily overwatered. Check the soil before assuming wilted plants are dry. If they are too wet, they will wilt too.

 

House Plants: With indoor plants, the air conditioner can actually dry out exposed leaves, making them look as though they are diseased. Papery brown areas are commonly the result of cold, dry drafts. Some plants are very susceptible to low temperatures as well.

 

Concerning pets:

Keep your cat away from the popular houseplant, Dieffenbachia. The plant contains a chemical in crystalline form that is very irritating to the animal’s mouth. Sometimes it can make the tongue swell up, interfering with breathing.

 

Lawn: Mow the grass at the highest level when the temperatures are high. The foliage shades the ground, reducing evaporation and the stress on roots.

Perennials: If the weather is dry, water plants when they wilt. Apply 1 inch of water early in the day so that the plants dry before temperatures drop in the late afternoon.

 

Pruning Perennials: As soon as the blooms fade, cut them off. Some perennials will re-bloom if old flowers are removed. For others, there is no need to burden the plants with a seed load unless you are collecting the seeds. Let the energy go into the plants.

Roses: Roses are at their best this month. The spring blooming varieties are at their full glory.

 

Roses need constant pruning. Carry your knife or shears anytime you are in the rose garden. Do not leave dead or diseased stems on the plants because the diseases will spread to healthy parts of the plants. Remove bare or spindly stems at the bottoms of the plants. They are places where canker diseases can start.

 

Plant landscape roses all summer. They are available in containers from garden centers and retail nurseries. Landscape architects and landscape contractors are using these plants more and more. Talk to your landscape architect or maintenance contractor about using roses instead of other shrubs or groundcover plants.

 

Shrubs: If June develops to be hot and dry, water all newly planted shrubs every week or more often if they wilt. Established shrubs may need water. Watch them for wilting, too. If the plants wilt, soak them thoroughly.

 

Shrubs: Hedges that have completed their first flushes of growth can be sheared now. Do not cut off all the new leaves. Shape the plants so that they are wider at the bottoms than at the tops.

 

Shrubs: Remove old blooms from flowering shrubs. These plants can be pruned now as well, but hurry. They will soon set flower buds for the next year. Late pruning will remove them.

 

 

As hot, dry weather arrives, be sure that trees get enough water. Landscape trees are in lawns or beds, often with no protection over the roots and competition from the grass for water.

 

It is not too late to plant containerized grasses, vines or ground covers. These plants are available at our Garden Center throughout the summer. Get them into the ground as soon as possible so that they are well established before the onset of winter.

 

 

Water plants in the early morning to prevent mildew.

 

Trim dead or dying leaves off of spring flowering bulbs.

 

Begin staking your tomatoes to support new growth.

 

Herbs & Veggies: Mulching conserves water. Hoe out any weeds and apply a 3-inch layer of mulch beneath plants. The mulch will keep weeds down too.

 

 

 

 

 

If you have questions about what will grow best in your yard or specific bloom times of plants, check with your garden center. Give Breezy Hill a call or stop in to see all the options.