With days getting hotter and longer, summertime activities are coming into full swing. June is a great time to enjoy all the hard work you’ve put into your landscape this past Spring. Plan to take on your landscaping and gardening tasks in the morning or evening when the temperatures are cooler. June’s landscaping tasks focus on Summer colors and the routine maintenance of mowing and weeding.
Here is a to-do list for landscaping and gardening in the Dallas/North Texas region to keep your lawn and landscape beautiful.
Lawn Mowing: Continue to mow your warm season turf grasses every 5 to 7 days. Bermuda should be maintained at 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches, while St Augustine at 2-1/2 inches in full sun and 3 to 3-1/2 inches in the shade. Keep mower blades sharp, and don’t cut more than one-third of the length of the grass blade.
Lawn Care: We recommended you fertilize your lawns in June with a high nitrogen or nitrogen-only fertilizer. This is especially true if your warm season grasses, like St. Augustine or Bermuda, are making poor growth so far this year. Early June is also an ideal time to aerate your lawn. If you still have weeds popping up, continue to spot treat any weeds in your lawn. Use a solution of 1 oz of dish soap to one gallon of vinegar in a spray bottle and SPOT treat the weeds in your lawn. Caution: This solution is non-selective; it will also kill grass or any other plants. Spray the weed only.
New Lawns:Early June is still a good time to install sod or plant new warm season grasses such as St. Augustine and Bermuda. Keep new turf grass moist until it has well established roots.
Insects, Diseases and Fungus: Warm weather brings the potential for unwanted bugs, plant disease and fungus. For St. Augustine grass, be on the lookout for Chinch Bugs from May through September. Check crape myrtles for aphids throughout the summer, and check ornamentals, flowers, and vegetables for spider mites now that the weather is warm and dry. Spider mites can be detected by taking suspicious leaves and rapping them over a white sheet of paper. If you see any dots on the paper that move, they are probably spider mites. For more severe problems, use an approved miticide. If it is only a light infestation, they can usually be reduced by frequently syringing the leaves with a sharp stream of water or by using insecticidal soap.
Watch for webworms on trees, especially pecans and mulberries, and treat as necessary. On roses, you should apply fungicide as necessary to control black spot and powdery mildew.
Landscaping Projects: June is a great time to consider hardscaping projects in your landscape. Consider hardscaping projects like patios, stone borders and outdoor kitchens to beautify your outdoor spaces. You may wish to consider some current trends in landscaping and design, such as creating a more natural and sustainable environment, using native plantings, attracting and sustaining birds and bees, and reducing water and irrigation requirements.
New Plantings: June is a great month to plant ground covers and warm season annuals to provide some summer color in your landscape. Heat tolerant annuals you might consider include moss rose, purslane, trailing lantana, pentas, copper plant, firebush, purple fountain grass, caladiums, coleus, crotons, tropical hibiscus, mandevilla and Gold Star esperanza.
You should plant mums now for a fall bloom. To encourage compactness and more flowers in the fall, pinch back fall bloomers like established mums, autumn asters, Mexican mint marigold and Mexican bush sage.
Plant Maintenance: Pay special attention to the water requirements of your landscape and lawn. All of your shrub and flower beds should have 3 to 4 inches of quality mulch in them. Good mulch reduces weeds, conserves water, prevents erosion, and regulates soil temperatures. As warm dry weather sets in, pay special attention to the water requirements of lawns, scrubs, trees and plantings. Remember that the best time to water is between 3:00 and 8:00 am to reduce evaporation and avoid fungal problems.
Pruning: While you should avoid any major pruning during the hot summer months, continue to prune out dead or broken branches from your woody, ornamental trees and shrubs. Be on the look out and pull any seedling oak, hickory or pecan trees from your beds. These are easiest to pull when they are young and the soil is moist. An old pair of pliers may be helpful to get a good grip.
You should also cut back spent flowers from your annuals and perennials to encourage new blooms.
If this list of landscaping and gardening tasks seems a bit daunting, remember to tackle your gardening one step at a time. If you need any assistance, we are here to help. High Quality Landscape Services has been creating beautiful landscapes and providing exceptional service to Dallas residential and commercial customers for 45 years. If you need landscaping services, let us put our experience to work for you to create a beautiful landscape.
