June
Despite the overcast in coastal areas, there are more hours of daylight in June than in any other month of the year. Summer's comin' in!
Water for Summer
With the long days of June, it's time to increase watering to the
summer schedule. Lawns need about one inch of water a week in coastal
areas, twice that amount in hot interior valleys.
Most shrubs will thrive on much less water than we usually give them. Roots go down to about two feet -- so should the water. Many shrubs will do fine with watering every two weeks. Fill the watering basins of fruit trees with three inches of water every two weeks.
Water in the morning hours. Fungus diseases like rust and black spot can be problems this month; these diseases get their start in warm and moist conditions. Your lawn and garden will be dry by the time the day warms up. Make basins around trees and shrubs, or install a drip system to conserve water.
Raise your lawn mower cutting height to at least 2 inches. Be sure
your blade is sharp! When your lawn reaches 3 inches, mow it back down
to 2 inches. Better yet, set your mower to cut at 3 inches. It's the
best way to conserve water and crowd out weeds. If you don't
overfertilize, mowing once a week should be just about right.
Mow High!
Fertilize summer annuals every 2 weeks with liquid fertilizer. Remove
faded flowers for a longer period of bloom.
Fertilize Flowers
When you cut roses, prune back to a leaf with five leaflets. Cut low
enough to encourage compactness. Maintain the open center shape by
removing the branches that grow into the center of the bush. Fertilize
roses after each flush of bloom. Be sure to spray monthly to prevent
powdery mildew, rust and black spot.
Roses
The most rapid growth of spring is over. Prune shrubs and hedges now
if you want to keep them compact. Summer pruning consists of light
thinning and shaping. Hand clippers are enough to cut back long stems.
To thin a shrub, cut back to a main stem. Cut to a bud to make the
plant denser. Reach into the shrub a few inches to make your cut. The
plant will fill in during the rest of the growing season.
Pruning
Use shears to prune hedges. Berries are forming on Pyracanthas and Cotoneasters; don't shear them off. If you have had the courage to let your Ligustrums get a little wild looking, you have enjoyed a month or more of their fragrant white flowers. Cut them back now. They make great hedges - even better if you let them flower.
Several flowering trees are in glorious full bloom this month.
Jacaranda trees are covered with lavender blue flowers, making a
spectacular display on many streets in central and southern
California. Albizia or Silk Floss Tree has fluffy pink to light red
flowers and an open, layered form. Flame Eucalyptus, with a sturdy
rounded form, is ablaze with orange-red flowers. Southern Magnolia
displays its huge white flowers in most of the state. Lyonothamnus is
the Catalina Ironwood. It has clusters of white flowers over a foot
across. Cut them off when they turn brown in July. In Bloom in June
Nerium oleander is one of the most widely used plants in California landscapes. It grows along the central and south coasts, thrives in hot inland valleys, and is a standard in the desert. Talk about drought tolerant! Oleanders on our highway medians get very little, if any, supplemental water in summer. Sadly, oleander is now being attacked by a new disease that is being spread by a new insect. The disease is oleander leaf scorch. The insect that spreads the disease is a leafhopper, the glassy-wing sharpshooter of the southeastern US. The disease is so far confined to the southernmost counties - Riverside, Orange, San Diego. It seems destined to spread northward, and it could spell the demise of a California favorite.
Fuchsia is another plant that is attacked by a serious pest, the fuchsia gall mite. These mites cause the foliage and buds of the fuchsia to become thickened and distorted. There are a few varieties of fuchsia that are resistant to the mite. Some of these varieties get by without spraying; others require infrequent spraying with Orthene or Thiodan. June is a great time to shop for fuchsias and to take cuttings of your favorites. If your neighbors have healthy looking plants that you like, why not ask if you can take some cuttings?
The first blackberries are ready to harvest this month. 'Boysen' and
'Ollalie' are popular, sweet and productive. Blackberries canes are
biennial. They produce berries on year old canes. After harvesting,
cut canes that produced berries to the ground. This will allow the new
canes to grow for next years crop.
Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum) will grow anywhere in
California. Choose from many varities, single and double flowered.
It grows best in the sun at the coast, afternoon shade inland. Plant
from seed or nursery containers. Likes a moist, well drained soil.
Divide crowded clumps in spring or fall. Watch for snails.
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© 1997 by Jim Clatfelter
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