JUNE
June Gardening Tips & Monthly Plant Care Guide
The garden is now in full swing! June is a key time for summer gardening, as your spring blooms settle in, lawn care and lawn maintenance routines are underway, and warm-season plants begin to thrive. It’s also when the pace of garden growth really picks up: weeds grow fast, thirsty plants demand regular watering, and summer flowers and vegetables are reaching for the sun. This is the time to shift into a balance of maintenance and enjoyment, focusing on regular garden care, proper irrigation, and keeping your landscape healthy, vibrant, and full of color.
Lawn Care in June
- Maintain taller mowing heights to prevent heat stress. Raise mower blades to at least 3" for bluegrass or fescue lawns. Remember to sharpen blades every 3-4 cuts.
- Apply a grub prevents or Insecticide to your lawn to kill grubs. Only do this if you have had a problem in the past. Use any products with the names "Merit" or "Mach II (2)" in the label. Complete this near the end of June and water in the application.
- Apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer to zoysia or bermudagrass lawns. This is also the time to spot spray bermudagrass in fescue and bluegrass lawns.
- If you irrigate with sprinklers, do not run them more than 2 times per week. Run them longer, letting water go deeper, but for less days. This will promote deep root systems that can handle drought and heat better.
June Tasks In the Vegetable Garden
- Harvest peas, beets, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and early onions. Also, everbearing and June-bearing strawberries, black raspberries, red raspberries, and serviceberries.
- Continue to plant succession crops like green beans, sweet corn, and cucumber for a longer harvest period.
- Plant Pumpkins and Gourds. By planting in June, you will have less risk of damage from both Squash Vine Borer Moth and Squash Bugs.
- Renovate June bearing strawberry beds. Fertilize and water regularly to promote new growth.
- Monitor tomatoes for foliar leaf diseases and treat appropriately
- Mulch crops for moisture conservation and weed control
- Pinch herbs to keep bushy and fresh with new growth
- Turn compost pile and keep moist for a quicker breakdown
Combat Pests
Grasshoppers: If grasshoppers were a problem last year, you may want to apply a Semispore around your flower beds, garden, and perimeter of your yard. Early June is the time to apply this product. Re-apply again after a hard rain.
Bagworms: Look out for bagworms and other leaf-eating caterpillars. Spray if you see them.
Aphids: Watch for sticky honeydew produced by Aphids, white flies and other sucking pests. Spray with insecticidal soap and repeat in a week.
Flowers
• Pinch chrysanthemums for development of a bushy plant
• Deadhead spent flower blossoms to keep plant flowering
• Remove flower stalks from peonies and iris
• Mulch flower gardens for the summer to conserve moisture, control weeds and cool the soil
• Water and fertilize container plantings regularly to encourage growth and flowering
• Water plants as needed
Trees and Shrubs
Fertilize roses with rose formulated fertilizer.
Dead-head roses by cutting back to the first leaf with 5 leaflets. Avoid overhead irrigation to reduce blackspot on roses.
Fertilize Azaelas, Rhododendrons, Holly, Hydrangeas with acidic fertilizer once a month.
Check for bagworms and treat as needed.
Mulch around the bases of trees and shrubs to conserve moisture. Be sure to keep the mulch 3” away from the trunk of the tree.
Do not damage tree trunks with mowers and weed whips.
Check for spider mite damage on shrubs.
Trim hedges as needed to maintain shape.
Treat peach trees for trunk borers.
Remove sucker growth from base of trees and along branches.
Water newly planted trees and shrubs as needed.
Pruning
• Remember the saying “Prune In June” and do just that to anything that looks wild and has lost its shape! The spring growth has slowed down now and if you lightly prune this will keep growth under control through the rest of the season. Now is a good time to lightly prune Dwarf Spirea, Barberry, Burning Bush, Euonymus, Dogwoods, Boxwood, Holly, Mockorange, Junipers, & Yews (just shape).
• Prune spring flowering shrubs
Houseplants
Water Frequently: Containers dry out quickly in June heat—check daily and water as needed.
Fertilize Containers: Use a liquid or slow-release fertilizer to keep plants actively growing.
Provide Drainage: Ensure pots drain well to prevent root rot.
Rotate Plants: Turn containers for even sunlight exposure and balanced growth.
Monitor for Pests: Inspect regularly for insects, especially on indoor-outdoor plants.