Hillermann's Top Tips for June

1. Apply a balanced rose fertilizer after the first show of blooms is past. Use Osmocote 19-6-12, good for the whole season or apply Howard Johnson’s Robust Roses 6-10-6 monthly.

2. Continue spraying roses with a fungicide to prevent black spot disease. Use Fertilome’s “Rose Spray” which also contains an insecticide.

3. Water turf as needed to prevent drought and stress. It should receive 1” of water per week.

4. Mow lawns frequently enough to remove no more than 1/3 the total height per mowing. There is no need to remove clippings unless excessive. Set mower higher during dryer weather to shade grass roots.

5. Cutting back taller perennials (i.e., salvia, rudbeckia, tall garden phlox, etc.) now will keep them bushier and blooming longer.

6. Prune flowering shrubs after they have bloomed (i.e., spirea, viburnum, etc.). Hand prune or shear evergreens (i.e., yews, holly, juniper, etc.).

7. Watch for bagworms on many garden plants, especially juniper and arborvitae, treat with Bonide Eight (permethrin). Watch spruce for spider mites which can be treated with Kelthane or Fertilome’s Malathion.

8. Trees and shrubs may still be fertilized before July 4th. Use Howard Johnson’s Grow Everything (10-10-10) or Howard Johnson’s Tremendous Trees (12-8-8).

9. Soaker hoses and Raindrip® irrigation systems make the most efficient use of water during dry times. We can help you with your system.

10. To minimize diseases, water with overhead irrigation early enough in the day to allow the foliage to dry before night fall.

11. Thinning overloaded fruit trees will result in larger and healthier fruits at harvest time. Thinned fruits should be hands-width apart.

12. Prune and train young fruit trees to eliminate poorly positioned branches and to establish proper crotch angles.

13. Begin control for apple maggot flies. Red painted balls that have been coated with tanglefoot may be hung in apples trees to trap egg-laying females.

14. Spray trunks of peach trees and other stone fruits with Fertilome Borer Spray for peach tree borers.

15. Oriental fruit moths emerge. Most serious on peaches where first generation attacks growing tips. Shoots will wilt. These should be pruned out. Use Bonide Eight (with permethrin) in season and apply dormant spray during February to prevent damage for the next season.

16. Renovate strawberries after harvest. Mow the rows; thin out excess plants; remove weeds; fertilize and apply a mulch for weed control. Use Howard Johnson’s Vibrant Veggies 5-10-5 or Osmocote 19-6-12 (for longer lasting power) and mulch with grass clippings or straw.

17. Plant pumpkins now to have Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.

18. To maximize top growth on asparagus, apply 2 lbs. of 10-20-10 fertilizer per 100 sq. ft. Water well and renew mulches to conserve moisture (end of June).

19. Stop harvesting asparagus when the spears become thin.

20. Control corn earworms. Apply several drops of mineral oil every 3-7 days once silks appear. Sprays of Bonide Eight (with permethrin) are also effective.

21. Repeat plantings of corn and beans to extend the harvest season.

22. As soon as cucumber and squash vines start to “run” begin spray treatments of Fertilome Borer Killer or Fertilome Malathion to control cucumber beetles and squash vine borers.