Keith Hansen

June means one thing for East Texans – summer has arrived! Gardeners should take advantage of the longer, hotter days by working in the morning and evening when it is more pleasant to be outside.

To keep the lawn and garden looking great, here are a few tips for this month.

Don’t let the summer heat get you down. There are some educational opportunities this month to keep you informed on gardening and plant topics. First is the last of the spring series of “First Tuesday in the Garden” lectures — “Texas Superstars” on Tuesday in the IDEA Garden during the noon hour.

You’ll learn about a great selection of plants that will work in any Texas garden, and enjoy the new pergola and expanded seating in the patio area of the IDEA Garden, located in the southeast corner of the Tyler Rose Garden.

For a look at the very latest plant introductions, make plans to attend the free Horticulture Field Day at Texas A&M at Overton on Thursday, June 26. This morning field day showcases the extensive annual bedding plant variety trials that are conducted at A&M at Overton, including sun and shade annuals and other specialty plants. You even get to vote for your favorites. For more details, visit http://flowers.tamu.edu

There is still plenty of time to plant colorful, heat-tolerant summer annuals. Directly seed in sunny areas zinnias, gomphrena (bachelor buttons), and portulaca (moss rose); and purchase transplants of celosia, periwinkle, salvia, marigold, tithonia, zinnias, copper plants and purslane. For part or full shade, plant nicotiana, impatiens, begonias, caladiums, salvia and coleus. Be sure to water transplants regularly until roots become established.

Often overlooked in the quest for summer color are tropical plants.

They offer spectacular color all summer long, and give you even more bang for your gardening buck. Tropicals planted directly in the ground make interesting and colorful additions to the garden. Try esparanza (yellow bells), firebush (Hamelia), allamanda, mandevilla, Mexican heather, tropical hibiscus, brugmansia (angle’s trumpet), bougainvillea, and pentas.

Lantana is another great summer bloomer for the blazingly sunny, hot spot in your yard. Lantana varieties grow either upright as 3 or 4 foot shrubs, or spreading like a ground cover, and they come in a variety of colors from cool white and lavender to hot orange and yellow.

Remove faded flowers (called dead-heading) on all perennials and annuals before they set seed to keep the plants compact, growing and producing more flowers.

A light application of fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks helps keep annuals productive and pretty.

As long as you can supply water, it is not too late to plant trees, shrubs, ground covers, and establish new lawns. Supplemental water during the first year of establishment and during dry periods is the key to success. But, do not over water new plants! More new plants are killed by over watering than by drought!

Crape myrtles, the queen of summer trees and shrubs, will start blooming soon, and that’s a great time to select the right color variety for your yard to compliment your home. Be sure to pick one that matures to the exact height for the location. That eliminates the need to annually prune it back to fit the spot.

There are many named varieties to choose from, each with a definite growth habit, color and mature height. All varieties with Indian tribe names are hybrids with very good resistance to powdery mildew.

Bare spots in your garden and flower beds are the breeding grounds for weeds. All a weed seed needs is a little bit of light and water to germinate. Prevent weeds by spreading mulch to all bare areas in your flower and vegetable gardens, and under and around shrubs. Pine straw is an excellent choice and is slow to decompose.

The abundant spring rains are helping keep the water bill to a minimum. Yet, constantly wet grass can fall victim to lawn disease. The hotter weather of June will promote faster growth, so keep up with the mowing so you don’t have to bag the clippings. You may need to mow frequently, every 5 or 6 days instead of every 7 to 10 days. Let the clippings fall back into the lawn to recycle nutrients. Mowing frequently at the correct height will promote a healthy, thick turf resistant to weeds.

For St. Augustine or Bermuda lawns that are making poor growth thus far this year, make a second application of fertilizer. For best results, use a fertilizer with a high percentage of nitrogen in the slow- release form so the grass won’t grow quite so rapidly. But, be careful to not apply too much fertilizer! A wet, hot June, coupled with lushly growing grass from high rates of nitrogen combine to promote Grey Leaf Spot, a fungal disease of St. Augustine grass. This summer disease causes yellowing and in severe cases, severe thinning of the turf, especially in shady areas or in low spots that tend to stay wet. If your St. Augustine is thick and rapidly growing, skip the summer application.

It is important you know how large your lawn is so you know how much fertilizer to apply. Check the bag for recommendations. Typical application rates for common fertilizer analyses might be five pounds of 21-7-14 per 1,000 square feet.

Do not exceed these rates.

Centipede lawns do not need to be fertilized at this time. Wait until fall for the next application.

Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service. His web page is http://EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu.

His blog is http://tce-blogs.tamu.edu/mt/etg Texas AgriLife Extension Service educational programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin.

Keith Hansen
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