Timing is decisive to keep your ornamental garden looking interesting , particularly during the red-hot summertime months . The garden is in full flush now in June but think ahead to what the tardy summertime or fall garden will look like . Although planting time of year is basically over , it ’s not too late to institute annuals and perennials that will provide mint of color up until frost .
Routine gardening job this calendar month
By now , we ’re largely done with our spring chores , such as bed preparedness , seeding , dividing , transplant , and mulching . It ’s now sentence to switch to care mode to keep the garden looking bracing and inviting . Some routine maintenance project include :
Deadheading — As annuals become established , deadhead pass flowers to encourage the plant life to produce another beat of flowers . A few minute of arc spent deadheading each week will keep those annuals blossom well into the growing season . TIP : Many of the raw variety of annuals are ego - cleaning and do n’t need to be deadheaded .
Pinching – The object glass of pinching back annuals , such as petunias and coleus , is to keep the plants bushy and forestall them from becoming leggy . nip back the stem to just above a leafage node .
Propagating – previous spring to former summertime is a good time to propagate stem cuttings of woody ornamental plants such as camellia , cotoneaster , viburnum , deutzia , and lilac . Take softwood thinning from lovesome new increase on woody flora , just as it begins to temper . To ascertain more about propagating plants , have-to doe with to Virginia Cooperative Extension ( VCE ) publishing 426 - 002 onPropagation by Cuttings , Layering and Division .
stake – Install supports for flora that tend to crumble or fall flat over . Staketaller plants , such as foxglove , milfoil , and delphiniums , andcagemounding plants , such as peonies or chrysanthemum . This is particularly vital if your garden is in a wordy site .
Weeding – With the onset of warmer weather , stay on top of the sens in your flowerbed . draw weeds at least once a workweek or more often if you have the fourth dimension and the inclination . For help with identify locoweed , tryWeed Identification Photos / Maryland Ext
Watering – Water tree and shrub deeply and infrequently at the root level to help them get through the summer heat . This is particularly important during the first few produce seasons after a tree diagram or shrub is planted . It ’s also authoritative for all plantings during drought conditions . If you apply a sprinkler scheme for your annuals and perennials , water them in the daybreak so that foliage can dry out off during the day .
Forcontainerized flora , keep close tabs on their water requirement . This is in particular critical if you ’re be after to go off on holiday . Group containerized plants together near a hosiery or other water system source so that it will be easier for your neighbour or other helpful person to irrigate your plants for you in your absence seizure . Place the plant where they will be out of the afternoon sunshine . This will aid them conserve water supply .
Collecting and save seeds – Giventhe rising costs of seeds these Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , collecting and saving your own is both rewarding and economical . Collect seeds after flowers have faded and seeds are dark brown or fateful . Spread the semen out and allow them to dry thoroughly so that they do n’t become moldy . set the dried germ in paper envelope or line - mean glass jar and label and date them . hive away the seeds in a cool , dry , drab position over wintertime . Some people care to stack away seeded player in their icebox . authoritative : While open - pollenate coinage will come back true from seminal fluid , hybrids will not .
separate daffodils – After Narcissus pseudonarcissus foliage has snuff it back , employ a shovel or garden spade to dig up the bulbs . Dig several inch out from the clump to avoid damaging the bulb and their offsets . face-lift the clump of bulb from the ground , being careful not to damage the base . Gently twist the electric-light bulb aside with your fingers . Discard any that look damage or diseased . Re - plant the bulbs in a sunny spot with good drainage . Mix in a good amount of compost or other organic matter before you replant them . found them three times asdeep in the stain asthe circumference of the incandescent lamp . In other words , if the bulb mensurate two inches around its halfway , works it six inches recondite .
get rid of drop rhododendron blooms – Now that rhododendrons have finished bloom , cautiously take the old blooms within 2 to 3 weeks after they have pass . This will advertize better blooming next yr , give the plant a tidier appearance , and help oneself prevent insect infestation . The technique is childlike : Grasp the worn-out blossom bunch ( call a truss ) and carefully pinch it off or push it aside with your thumb . This will reveal the developing efflorescence buds for next year ’s flowers . Be careful not to spite those as you remove this year ’s dead flower bunch .
supervise plant for sign of powdery mildew – Garden Phlox ( Phlox paniculata ) is one of the classic mainstays of the gay perennial moulding . But powdery mildew can devastate the leafage of this aboriginal plant and turn it into an unworthy , unsightly mess . To combat this disease , plant garden phlox in full Lord’s Day . Space the plant about 18 to 24 inches aside to allow for in force air circulation . sparse out establish clumps by snip out the weakly root word , leave only 5 or 6 sturdy stems . body of water well , especially during dry conditions , with a torrent hosiery at soil grade and invalidate wetting the foliage . Mulch around the roots to help retain moisture in the soil .
education vines , climbing rose , and other twining or climbing plants . Vining plant normally go through a maturation spurt in early summer . As they maturate , school them onto living before they become uncontrollable . As you marry them up , spread them out to the extent possible to cover trellises intimately and to allow for better air circulation .
Monitoring houseplants to keep them from sprawling . The move alfresco into smart light and fresh atmosphere provides just the leap start that many houseplant ask for a growth spurt . Jade industrial plant is an example of a houseplant that tends to straggle . To keep it under control , vellicate off the side shoot to keep the plant growing just . Do n’t cast aside the side shoots that you pinched off . Pot them and start new plant life .
horticulture labor To count
reckon design and installing a Rain Garden?A pelting garden is an environmentally responsible way to capture rainfall and tempest - piddle overspill . If you ’re in the unconscious process of planning one , choose plants that can tolerate both casual implosion therapy and long flow of ironical weather . VCE Publication 426 - 043 onRain Garden Plantsrecommends one plant species for every 10 to 20 square feet . In the example given , a 140 - straight - understructure garden should have 7 to 14 different plant species consist of a mix of tall , medium and low grow species . Some plants urge for rain gardens let in :
Thinking about creating a butterfly garden?If so , check out Virginia Tech ’s publication HORT-59NP , Creating invite Habitatsfor Birds , Butterflies , and Hummingbirds . You ’ll find guidance on which horde industrial plant to grow , depending on the life cycle of the butterfly . Adult butterflies ask nectar , whereas caterpillars ask leaves or other plant parts . Native plant species digest more butterfly stroke and moth species than introduced plants . Incorporate a wide range of plants that bloom throughout the arise season . Also , mathematical group plants of the same species together to mould a peck of color or fragrancy . A tidy sum planting makes it well-heeled for pollinators to blot your garden and encourage them to swoop in for a close review . If they like what they see , they ’ll blithely make your garden a regular occlusion on their everyday food - foraging military expedition .
Pests , Wildlife , and Other Aggravations
Japanese beetles – The grub of this devastating landscape painting pest pupate in the soil in spring and come forth as adults in June and July with voracious appetite . The best strategy for supervise these beetles is prevention and other sensing . When they first appear in the landscape , immediately remove them from affected plants . The logic in doing this is that the presence of the mallet on a plant attracts more beetle . A agile “ organic ” way to dispense with them is to peck them off plants by mitt early in the morning when they are slow and drop them into a bucket of soapy water . VCE Publication 2902 - 1101 ( ENTO-514NP),Japanese Beetle , provides information on this pest and strategies for controlling it . University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Publication ENTFACT-451,Japanese Beetles in the Urban Landscapeincludes tilt of landscape painting plants that are seldom damage by Japanese beetle as well as plant that are probable to be attack by them . To discover more about Nipponese beetle and their control , be certain to understand the recentGarden ShedarticleThe Japanese Beetle .
Mosquitos — As the atmospheric condition produce affectionate this month , mosquitos make their appearance on the conniption . It only takes a tablespoon or so of standing water to ply a potential education position for mosquitos . supervise all potential mosquito gentility places such as birdbath , drainpipes , or saucers under potted plant and remove standing water immediately .
Rabbits – Our first impulse is to blame deer for legal injury to our gardens , but rabbits run to care the same plants . constitutive cervid repellent sprays containing rotten egg and hot common pepper should beat back both animals . The downside to repellents is that most of them need to be re - applied after heavy rains . A good result is to install a 3 - foundation tall physical barrierconstructed of wimp telegram or other small gauge telegram with openings no more than one inch panoptic . Rabbits can burrow , so bury the bottom of the fencing about 6 inches late into the grime . If it ’s not possible to install a strong-arm barrier , then use plants that are rabbit immune . Penn State ’s Cooperative Extension offers some suggestions in its issue onRabbit - Resistant Garden and Landscape plants .
Poison Ivy – “ Leaves of three , result them be ” is an easy way to aid you identifypoison Hedera helix . It take in about 2 to 3 hebdomad on norm to recover from the fidgety skin rash cause by middleman with urushiol ( pronounced u - ROO - she - ol ) , the active factor in the industrial plant ’s sap . To move out this vine safely from your landscape , loosen the soil around the roots so that they will be easier to pull . Slip a formative trash bag over yourglovedhand , grasp the plant , and pull it out by its roots . Pull the scum bag up over the plant , firmly tie the bag , and set it in the folderol . DO NOT COMPOST OR BURN THIS PLANT . If , however , you are one of those lucky the great unwashed not vex by poison ivy , then consider leaving it alone . The berries are an important food source for many birds .
Invasive Alert : Mile - a - minute vine(Persicaria perfoliata , formerlyPolygonum perfoliatum ) get its usual name from its power to spring up 6 ” a day and 25 ’ in a single season . diminutive , sharp , recurve barb line the veins on the cover of the leaves and on the stem , which inspired its other common name of Tearthumb . This invasive annual vine work dull mats of leafage and scramble over other plants embarrass out lighting and killing them . Tiny whitened flower begin blooming in June , followed by showy bright blue fruit that are dispersed by birds and by waterway ( because the fruits float ) . The plant life bring about flowers and fruits continually from early summertime until frost . Shallow roots make the plant easy to pull up , but the recurved barb can easily pierce skin . So be sure to wear off protective horticulture gloves when manually pull out this vine . Both manual pull and weed killer treatment should be done before seed lay out in mid to late June . For large , infested areas , apply preemergent herbicides to the stain in ahead of time to mid - March .
For entropy on other invading species to watch out for in June , see theInvasive Plant Control Calendarin the May 2022 upshot ofThe Garden Shed .
Featured Photo : Cathy Caldwell
SOURCES :
Monthly Gardening Tips / June , Piedmont Master Gardeners / Gardening resourcefulness
The Well - Tended Perennial Garden : Planting & Pruning Techniques(Tracy DiSabato - Aust , 2006 )
