This month is yet again another pick up of last month. Regular maintenance and care is required for those plants you have already put in the earth or potted. You can still plant the same veggies and flowers that you planted in May, but this month is and ideal time to plant a pumpkin for Halloween! You may be starting to harvest some of your warm season veggies now. Be sure to harvest before they rot and drop to the ground.

What to Plant

• June is a great month for planting new trees & shrubs. Use Gardner & Bloom® Soil Building Compost when planting in the ground and Gardner and Bloome® Potting soil for pots and raised beds. Use DeWitt® 12-year Weed Barrier Landscape Fabric to prevent weeds from coming up in your garden beds.
• Subtropicals abound. Now is an excellent time to plant hibiscus, gardenia, palms, tibouchina (princess flower), and/or bougainvillea, shrub or vine.
• Continue to plant dahlias, begonias–and get in the gladiolus bulbs. Add some Dr. Earth® Bone Meal to the planting hole for great root development and beautiful blooms!
• Plant a giant pumpkin now with your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews. They’ll have so much fun being involved in planting their pumpkin for Halloween.
• Continue to transplant potted bulbs into the ground.
• Continue to tuck in or fill out your garden beds with all the wonderful annual and perennial color. Celosia, dahlia, marigold, petunia, portulaca, salvia, scabiosa, verbena, zinnia, rudbeckia, gloriosa daisy, heliotrope, coreopsis, delphinium, digitalis–the list goes on and on!
• Plant warm-season lawns such as Tifgreen® Hybrid Bermuda or Seashore® Paspalum
• Continue to plant vegetables and herbs – There’s still time to plant warm-season crops like tomatoes, squash, peppers, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, melons, okra and corn. Also plant basil, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme and other heat-lovers. Consider using Superthrive® for healthier, fast growing plants. Superthrive® is excellent for reducing transplant shock and reviving stressed plants.
• Continue to purchase, plant, and transplant succulents. Purchase fuchsias & epiphyllums.
• Plant petunias. Pinch them back when you plant them.

Harvest Time

Harvest your summer vegetables as soon as they are ready. Don’t let them rot and drop to the ground. This can bring insects and disease. See our harvest guide.
Feeding and Maintenance.

Lawns

• Following your personal fertilizer schedule; fertilize both cool season (fescue) and warm season (bermuda & St. Augustine) lawns using Best® Turf Plus 24-4-4 (lasts for up to 12 weeks!). Use Dr. Earth® Super Natural Lawn Fertilizer for an organic food. For convenience in small areas use Hand-Held spreader. For larger areas use a Broadcast Spreader.
• Mow cool season lawns long and warm season lawns short.

Plants, Trees and Shrubs

• BENEFICIAL INSECTS – Beneficial insects such as the almost decollate snails, praymantis, ladybugs, etc. keep other insect pests away from your vegetable gardens by eating aphids, scale, and other annoying intruders. You can use beautiful flowers to tempt these garden friends into your garden. Try putting some of these flowers near to your rose garden for aphid control!
• VEGETABLES – Keep planting warm season crops. Stop watering onions and garlic grown for bulbs when leaves being to turn yellow. Dig bulbs when tops have fallen over and place in a shady, well ventilated area to cure. Fertilizer warm season crops to promote growth. Try Dr. Earth® Tomato and Vegetable food. Check for pests. Use a pest control product made for use on vegetables.
• HERBS – Pull out spend winter annuals such calendula. Prune back perennial herbs like rosemary. Continue to harvest Yerba mansa, mint, elderberry flowers and lavender blossoms. Harvest as herbs mature.
• FRUIT TREES & VINES – Continue to feed avocado and citrus trees. Use a good all around fertilizer such as Dr. Earth® Organic Citrus and Avocado food or contact us to learn of other conventional and organic fertilizers that will fit your growing needs best! Check citrus for pests and diseases. Irrigate as needed to maintain adequate soil moisture. Apply enough water to wet the soil at least two feet deep. Only apply water about 3 inches deep in loam soil. Watch for chlorosis on your citrus. This yellowing of the leaves between the veins is a sign of iron deficiency for the plant. Feed with a good iron supplement such as Ironite® Mineral Supplement.
• Wash fruit trees periodically with a forceful spray of water to remove dust, honeydew and pests like aphids, whiteflies and spider mites. Control ants. Use Tanglefoot® or Ant Pro® Liquid Ant Bait and Bait Stations.
• DECIDUOUS FRUIT – Complete thinning out fruit on apples, pears and stone fruits after June drop.
• ROSES – Continue to deadhead stems and canes when blooms are spent. Water well as heat increases. Roses need one inch of water twice a week during the warm season. Potted roses need even more. Spray wash the bushes with water daily in the early morning to control powdery mildew or spray with a fungicide according the label directions. Watch for Blossom rot; a fungus that shows up as red spots on white and yellow petals and brown spots on petals of other colors. Remove affected blooms. Feed roses based on the recommended schedule for your chosen fertilizer. Some good options are Dr. Earth® Rose & Flower food, Gro Power® Flower N’ Bloom or Bayer® Advanced combination control Rose Foods.
• BEGONIAS – Check tuberous begonias to repot or add fresh soil. Stake if needed. Wash insects off with water. Pinch back once or twice and fertilize for more blooms and bushier canes.
• FUSHIAS – Continue to water regularly. Use a liquid fertilizer when watering during their growth period (April through September). Remove berries from fuchsias after flowers fall.
• CAMELLIAS – Wait until July to feed your camellias. A good schedule of feeding is three times a year. March should have been your first feeding. You gave them more food in May and you will again in July. Use Dr. Earth® Camellia and Azalea Food. Watch for aphids and hose them off with a spray of water. Keep well watered, but not soggy. Prune unwanted new growth
• CACTUS & SUCCULENTS – Feed all container-grown succulents with a well-diluted complete liquid fertilizer such as Shultz 10-15-10 Plant Food. Water well. Make sure drainage is good in all container plants.
• DAHLIAS – Continue Feeding dahlias with a balanced nitrogen fertilizer as instructed on your label. Spray as necessary to control insects. Watch for leaf miners, thrips and aphids. Try using a systemic. If spraying, use a weak solution on new foliage. Water when top of soil is dry. Soak deeply and often when buds are forming. Pinch out center of plants when two or three sets of leaves have developed. Plant tubers now when soil is warm. Tubers should be planted four to six inches down and planted with “eye” up. Stake at this time. Keep moist but not too wet. Protect from harsh sun. Protect from snails and slugs.
• GERANIUMS – Avoid pruning or cutting. Remove dead or damaged leaves to prevent molds and fungus. Watch for geranium rust. Use Immunox® to treat. Immunox® is a non-sulfur based product. Keep the soil moist and the foliage dry. Fertilize with an all purpose plant food every 2-3 weeks. Protect against whitefly, budworm & aphids. Use a product that contains both an insecticide and fungicide.
• ORCHIDS – Continue to protect plants from sun damage as temperatures rise. Water more as plants increase their growth rate. Watch and protect from insect infestations. Divide and repot cymbidiums that have outgrown their containers.
• EPIPHYLLUMS – Prune plants to shape. Plant cuttings after they flower. Bait for snails & slugs. Use horticultural oil for scale. Wilted flowers that don’t drop may be cut just above the branch node to give new buds more room to open. Start new cuttings or repot crowded plants. Keep soil damp. Protect from hot summer sun.
• IRIS – Continue to prepping beds for planting. Cut stalks near the ground when finished blooming. Feed heavily when the bloom season is over with a 6-20-20 mix or similar. Check for aphids and leaf rush. Feed spurias with a low-nitrogen fertilizer. Feed Siberians after blooming with a balanced food. Dig and transplant after June. Feed Japanese Irises with camellia food.
• TROPICALS – Continue with a fertilizer schedule for your tropical plants. Tropicals do best when feed during the growing season (spring through fall). This will depend on your schedule and type of fertilizer used. We suggest with Gro-Power® Premium Palm & Tropical Plant Food 9-3-9 or Apex® 13-4-12 Palm K. Remove only dead and dying foliage from date palms
• BROMELIADS – Water throughout the summer by spraying. Bromeliads absorb moisture and nutrients through their leaves. They do not like soggy roots so don’t over-water. Be sure to protect from sun. Use shade-cloth for protection if needed.
• PLUMERIA – Continue fertilizing with a low nitrogen fertilizer such as Gro Power® Flower N’ Bloome 3-12-12. Follow the label recommendations. Plant new or Repot plants to replace old soil with a fresh mix. Use one-half cactus mix such as Kellogg® Palm & Cactus Mix and one-fourth #3 perlite and one-fourth Worm Gold Max®. Keep soil at the same level as before.
• FERNS – Continue to divide and mount staghorn ferns. Remove old dead fronds. Keep humidity up. Water frequently and fertilize with half-strength, slow release fertilizer such as Dr. Earth® Organic Palm & Tropical. Spray for aphids, thrips and scale. Collect and sow spores.
• IRON DEFICIENCY? – Many have asked us what is causing yellowing in the leaves of their citrus, camellias, and gardenias. Iron deficiency. Do the leaves near the top of the plant have green veins but yellow in between the veins? Time for either a foliar spray or a soil drench such as Grow More® Iron Chelate or Ironite® Mineral Supplement. This will help return those leaves to green!
• TREE & SHRUBS – Continue your fertilizer routine. There are many products available in both organic and conventional style feeding. Continue to prune your ornamental shrubs for hedges.
• NATIVE PLANTS – Most native plants can go three to four weeks between watering, but Riparian natives need to be watered once or twice a week. Wash the dust off shrubs and trees once a month. Harvest wildflower seeds. Pull out wildflowers after they dry. Keep planting at a minimum until fall. If you do plant, make sure to water 3 – 5 times for most new plantings. Then they can generally make it with little water through summer. Visit Las Pilitas Nursery for best times to plant.
• ATTRACT BIRDS – Attract a variety of birds to your yard with KAYTEE® Brand Bird Seed and bird feeders. Place some hummingbird feeders around your yard to keep them coming back. Then relax and listen to the birds.
• MULCH, MULCH, MULCH – If you haven’t already, apply a layer of mulch on flower beds and around trees and shrubs 2-3 inches around the base of plants. It reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and prevents disease. Great stuff!

Watering

• Deep water entire garden to flush accumulated salts to prepare for summer heat.
• Re-adjust sprinkler settings, repair and add lines to use water more efficiently. Are you wasting water? Be sure to use a hose end sprayer equipped with a shut off valve.
• Reset your irrigation timer to water more frequently as the weather starts to warm up. Adjust as needed if we get adequate rain fall.
• Water gardens – Check irrigation systems. Fix clogs and broken sprinklers. Adjust spray heads. Begin watering as weather warms. Apply a fresh layer of organic mulch to conserve moisture.
• Apply at least one inch of water twice per week to keep roses well hydrated.
• Established California Natives only need deep infrequent watering during this time of year. Always follow your specific plants label instructions.
• As the weather becomes drier, keep up with watering. Even highly drought-tolerant plants need irrigation. Water large cacti, for example, once a month and agave and yuccas every three weeks. Be sure to water most garden plants regularly. Try using a Rain Wand for easy watering. Pair it with a Gilmour Flexogen Hose for maximum kink resistance.
• Water lawns – Check irrigation systems. Fix clogs and broken sprinklers. Adjust spray heads. Begin watering if weather warms but only after soil has partially dried. Check with your local water department or cooperative extension service for lawn watering guidelines.
• Now is a perfect time to start planning on how you are going to save water in your landscape, if you haven’t already. Installing or retrofitting an existing irrigation system to utilize the most up-to-date technology will help you save water. Grangetto’s can help you make the SMART WATER CHOICE in your landscape. Call us or stop by your favorite location so we can help! Here are some water saving devices

Did you know that you could SAVE up to 30% on Your WATER BILL? Consider replacing old irrigation systems with updated water efficient weather based systems from HUNTER® Irrigation, Rain Bird® Irrigation or Irritrol/Toro® Irrigation. Replace your old outdated nozzles with HUNTER® MP Rotators or Rain Bird® Rotating Nozzles. Be sure to follow your local watering restrictions and guidelines.

Pests to Watch out For

• Control indoor & outdoor pests – To control insects like spiders, fleas and ants, use Bayer Complete Insect Killer. It controls insects in lawns & around homes so they don’t come inside!
• Animals – Warmer weather brings out animals such as skunks, raccoons and opossums. Trap them with Havahart Traps. We carry a large supply and they are very effective.
• Squirrels – Use Havahart Traps, Protecta Bait Stations, Wilco Squirrel Bait and Station or Squirrelinator Multi-Trap.
• Control mosquitoes – Use Mosquito Dunks in ponds or standing water to help control mosquitoes.
• Rabbits – protect your vegetables and herbs from foraging rabbits! Use Rabbit Scram Repellent to keep rabbits away. This repellent is natural and organic and works as a barrier so it never has to touch your plants.
• Snails & Slugs – Use Organic Gro Power® Slug N Snail, Organic Sluggo® Plus, Original Sluggo® or Corry’s® Snail & Slug Meal or Pellets.
• Aphids – Control aphids with insecticidal soap and beneficial insects. Safer® Insect Killing soap is a good organic choice.
• Thrips – Wash foliage with water from a garden hose. For stronger infestations use Bayer® Advanced Tree and shrub Insect Control. This is a systemic that gives 12 months of control.
• Coddling moth larvae – Spray walnuts with Sevin when nuts are about the size of a nickel and again three weeks later to control coddling moth larvae.
• Scale – Use Lilly Miller® Superior Type Spray Oil or Ortho® Volck Oil Spray to control crawlers.
• Lawn pests – Use Bayer® Multi-Insect Killer or Spectracide® Triazicide
• Vegetable Pests – Use Green Light Lawn & Garden Spray with Spinosad or Sevin Insect Killer Liquid or Sevin-5 Dust.
• Juniper moths – Spray junipers and Italian cypress for juniper moths.
• Rats & Mice – Use Just One Bite® Rodent Bait.
• Gophers – Use Wilco® Gopher Getter or Cooke Quick Action Gopher Mix to rid your yard of gophers. Use ZP® Bait in and around garden beds.
• Caterpillars – Use Safer® Caterpillar Killer, Monterey® Garden Insect Spray or Green Light Lawn & Garden Spray with Spinosad. Look these pests on your broccoli and cabbage!
• Rose Pests – Use Bayer® All-in-One Rose & Flower Care, Bayer® 3-in-1 Insect Disease and Mite Control or Green Light® Rose Defense.
• Powdery Mildew – Especially near the coast, this is the time we begin to see powdery mildew on our rose foliage (and other plants too). There are several different foliar fungicidal sprays to that can help. Consider Bayer® Insect Disease and Mite Control or Ortho® Rose Pride are good conventional use products. Use Monterey E-Rase® for organic growing.
• Powdery Mildew on Grapes – Apply a sulfur spray such as Safer® Garden Fungicide.
• Fruit Tree Pests – Use Monterey® Garden Insect Spray to combat caterpillars and other listed pests on fruit trees, vegetables and ornamentals. It is OMRI listed for Organic Use too.
• Lawn Weeds – To control weeds in lawns while giving them a good feeding use Lilly Miller® Ultra Green 28-2-3 Weed & Feed.
• Weeds – Use Bonide® Crabgrass Preventer or Bayer® Season Long Weed Control in lawns. Use Green Light® Amaze in ornamentals & flower beds. For non-selective areas, use Roundup ®or QuickPro® products. Be sure to use a good sprayer such as Hudson® Sprayers. DeWitt® Weed Barrier Landscape Fabric prevents weeds without chemicals. It still allows air, water and nutrients to go through. Lay this fabric down before planting your gardens.

Note: All information provided is based on typical season, weather and environmental statistics. These tips are provided for information purposes only and to be used as a general guide. Products/Brands mentioned may be discontinued at anytime and not guaranteed in-stock. Grangetto’s invites you to contact us or visit one of our locations for more specific care instructions.