June Garden Work To Do Now

Roses everywhere are lovely this month (June). Water, feed and spray them so they will look their best. With a little regular care you can have flowers until frost.

With the approach of hot weather, raise the blades of your lawn mower so it will cut the grass from 2-1/2″. Cutting the grass at this height will prevent the roots from drying out as easily, and young crab grass seedlings, which abhor shade, will also be discouraged.

Annuals for late-season bloom may be started. Mignonette, snapdragons, larkspurs, zinnias, alyssum, lupine, poppies, candytuft, clarkia and calendulas are some of those which will give plenty of color in september.

Dahlias may still be planted during this month. They grow quickly in hot weather. In dividing clumps, be sure each tuber is left with an eye, without which it will not sprout. Dahlias need plenty of sunshine and a light, rich, porous soil. Remember to insert stakes at planting time for tying plants later.

Speaking of dahlias, the dwarf sorts are of easy culture and among the most floriferous of garden plants. Any kind of soil will do, and they appreciate an application of a complete fertilizer with a high phosphate content.

It is still not too late to prune shrubs which bloomed this spring. Strive to keep their natural, graceful appearance, and in cutting away branches remember the rule: cut at the bottom or not at all.

Spring-flowering perennials such as arabis, alyssum, primroses and iris may be divided. Give them a rich, well-drained soil, and mulch to conserve moisture and keep weeds down.

Sow biennial seeds this month: foxglove, sweet william, canterbury bells, hollyhocks, english daisies and verbasown (mullein). Empty spaces left by biennials in the border may be filled in with annuals.

Stake peonies and other tall-growing perennials before winds and rains topple them. By tying them early, natural shapes are more easily maintained. In cutting peony blossoms, allow two or more leaves with each stalk as the foliage is needed for the manufacture of food for the roots.

Now that most spring or early summer-flowering trees and shrubs have finished blooming,, we are reminded that rose of sharon, hibiscus syriacus and varieties, will carry on with the color parade. Koelreuteria panieulata is another midsummer-blooming tree, with drooping yellow flower panicles, which should be given consideration.

Water house plants with liquid fertilizer twice a month. The tenderest kinds may now be plunged in the garden where they get the early morning or late afternoon sun.

Mildew on roses, delphiniums, phlox and other perennials may be kept under control with sulphur or fermate. Avoid wetting the foliage in the evening as it promotes the development of the disease.

A second fertilizer application may be still made on the lawn during the first part of the month. Apply a complete fertilizer, such as 5-10-5 or 4-12-4, at the rate of 10-15 lbs. Per 1000 square feet. Also, as the weather gets hot and dry soak the grass to a depth of several inches.

Delphiniums are in their glory now. Spray plants with pyrethrum or rotenone for control of cyclamen mite. Seriously infested plants should be removed and burned.

Apples, pears, peaches and other fruits may be thinned, after the natural “june drop,” to stand about 6″ apart. Fruit will then be larger.

Stokesias are among the less common perennials which deserve a front place in the sunny border. A light, well-drained soil is necessary. Stokesia meets, growing to 1-1/2, comes in shades of lavender-blue, white, rose and purple. Variety blue moon produces lavender flowers 5″ across.

Endive, beets, carrots, kale, beans and kohlrabi seeds may be sown for fall crops.

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