Lawns:
Now is the time to replace any warm season turf that has suffered disease or cold damage.Cut the damaged area out with a shovel and lay the new sod in the hole. Water the sod heavily one time. Keep the sod moist until the root system takes hold and can support itself.

Top dress warm season turf with about 1lb of nitrogen per 1000sq. feet. The extra nitrogen will help the turf grow during it's optimum growing months of June, July and August.

Recommended mowing heights are:
Bermuda and Zoysia 1/2 to 1 inch
Centipede and Kentucky bluegrass 1 to 2 inches
St Augustine and tall fescue 1 1/2 to 2 inches
 

Annuals:
You still have time to set out summer bedding plants. Keep them watered until the roots grow into the surrounding soil.

Time to transplant seedlings of annuals such as marigolds and zinnias if the stands are too thick.

Keep all old flower blooms cut from annuals. This enables plant to produce more blooms for a longer period.

Perennials & Bulbs:
Stake hollyhocks, tall lilies and other tall flowering plants.

Dig spring flower bulbs as soon as foliage dies down. Dig tulips, Dutch iris, narcissus and other hardy bulbs. Divide and replant bulbs immediately. It isn't necessary to dig them up each year, but at least take them up and divide often enough to keep them from becoming root bound.

Feed plants with compost or granular fertilizer for a boost after the first round of flowering. 

Set out summer and fall blooming perennials now for a late season display. Good choices include perennial salvia, purple coneflower, asters, and Japanese anemones. Water thoroughly after planting.

Mid-month dust wood ashes around shrubs that attract Japanese Beetles.

Trees & Shrubs:
Remove any dead wood or weak branches on crepe myrtles so new growth will be vigorous and show good form. When buying crepe myrtles, get them in bloom to assure getting the color you want. Consider planting the fast growing mildew resistant selections, such as Biloxi (light pink) or Tuskegee (dark pink).

Feed azaleas, camellias and gardenias.  If the leaves are yellow with green veins, apply iron chelate, or treat the surrounding soil with aluminum sulfate.

For bushy well shaped plants that bloom profusely, prune shrubs as they grow.  In June summer prune abelia, forsythia, privets, mock orange, deutzia, althea, bush honeysuckle, weigela and euonymus. Do it now before they set flower buds for next season.

Feed nandinas with a complete fertilizer so their bright berries will last through winter.

Roses:
Prune climbing roses after they bloom; fertilize at that time.

An unfamiliar flower on grafted roses means that the rootstock is blooming instead of the grafted portion. Cut the rootstock branch back to the ground to prevent it from becoming dominant.

Vegetables & Herbs:
Pinch back basil, catmint, catnip and lemon basil to prevent flowering and keep it bushed out.

Chives-each time you need a few chives from the garden, cut generoulsy, as that will encourage new growth. Snip the extras into short segment, put them in a plastic container and store in the freezer. 

Set out young tomato plants late in the month for a harvest that continues into fall

Back to garden calendar