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June 2004 Quotes & Tips
(Last updated June 2, 2004)
Tigger, Hudgins' store mascot and gardening guru
- As the warm air moves into the area, be on the look out for fungus. As humidity increases along with temperatures, the perfect environment is created for fungus. Plants that are especially susceptible to fungal disease are roses, hydrangeas, azaleas, rhododendrons and, of course, your lawn. Treat these with a high quality fungicide now to prevent a fungus or to cure it before it gets out of control.
Tigger's favorites include Immunox, Bayer Complete Fungus Control and 1% Bayleton for your lawn.
- Apply a second application of crabgrass control. A second wave of this nasty weed invades our lawns in early June and becomes noticeable in the lawn by mid month.
Tigger's recommendation: Crab-Ex. It stops germination of weed grasses as well as kills any germinated seedlings less than 4 weeks old.
- Water: Try to water your lawns and gardens in early morning. This allows the area to dry out before night fall. Also, newly installed plant material needs at least 1 hour of water per week. New plantings will benefit from 20 minute watering every other day (use a hose end watering wand and avoid overhead aerial sprinklers) for the first two weeks, then at least 2 deep root waterings per week until fall. Lawns should be watered to a depth of 1" to 1.5" per week.
Tigger's Tip: don't let Mother Nature fool you. Invest in a rain gauge to accurately check rainfall amount. A thirty minute shower rarely contains enough moisture to provide adequate water for new or established plants. Often much of the rainfall will run off before sinking into the soil if it has not rained for several days.
- With a little love and attention, annuals and perennials planted in June will thrive. The heat and bright sun will make them produce large blooms and stimulate growth.
Tigger says water with MiracleGro once or twice a week and watch the blooms explode.
- Roses: Summer is a good time to prune your rose bushes. Prune your plants to remove canes that have gone gray with age, those that are a mess from spent blooms, and stems arising from below the graft union on grafted plants. Consider with every cut how your pruning will affect the rose bush. Summer rose pruning is a balancing act. Good light penetration will help control possible problems with blackspot and other fungal diseases. However, retaining leaves allows the plant better equilibrium and use of solar energy (photosynthesis) the plant needs to thrive. So think as you snip!
Tigger's Tip: Rose roots work hard, too. Now is an ideal time to feed plants with organic rose food. This allows the plant to be fed slowly, replenishing the nutrients exhausted from blooming while not pushing out excessive new growth. Tigger recommends Espoma Rose-tone as an excellent choice for summertime rose feeding.
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and information on a weekly basis. Please submit your email address to us at hudginsgardencenter@earthlink.net to receive special pricing, coupons, give aways, weather alerts, more.
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