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This Month in Your Garden
JUNE |
Roses |
Your roses will be slowing
down a bit after the riot of color we had
in April, and they’d appreciate some
fertilizer this month to give them a
boost. A good organic meal for the roses (and for
the soil) would be 1 cup bone meal (not if you have
a dog - they will dig in the soil!), 1 cup cottonseed
meal, 1/2 cup blood meal, 1/2 cup fish meal and
1/2 cup Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). For
those of you with less time and money to spend on
your roses, any 10-10-10 fertilizer will do. You
may want to use something that says “Complete
Plant Food” on your roses once a year for the trace
elements they usually contain, such as calcium,
magnesium, sulfur, iron, zinc, manganese, copper,
cobalt and boron. Only do this once a year though
as some minerals stay in the soil and can be harmful
in excess.
Black spot, rust and powdery mildew are loving
this damp weather, so you may need to continue
spraying fungicide. Use something with different
ingredients than you did last year because
fungus can tend to become resistant to some fungicides.
Also, because of our recent damp weather,
you may notice that the outer petals of some rosebuds,
especially on heavily petaled roses, are turning
brown and failing to open. When drier weather
arrives, this problem will be solved.
I thought I would include recommendations for
bringing roses indoors to enjoy them. Cut flowers
in early morning or evening; when plant sugars are
highest.. Get them in water as soon as possible.
Re-cut the stems at a pointed angle under water
when you get them in the house, so water, instead
of air, fills the holes made at the base of the stem.
It is important to use clean containers. Clean
with dish detergent and a small amount of bleach,
then rinse well. Be creative with your containers;
anything that can hold water will do. To stabilize
your arrangement, there are several choices. A
layer of clean sand or pebbles on the bottom of the
vase is probably the easiest. Some use crunched up
chicken wire, or make criss-crosses over the top of
the vase to hold the stems in place.
You can also use floral foam such as Oasis.
Floral foam has the advantage that it can be cut to
fit containers of any size, even a tea cup (which is a great place to show off miniature roses or short
stemmed blooms from a floribunda.) Soak foam until it
is saturated, adding floral preservative to the water if
you have it. Once it is well soaked, use a knife to cut it
to fit the appropriate container. Clear tape can be used
to hold it in place. Try to insert the stem only once into
a hole, as extra holes will reduce the amount of water
the foam holds. Never re-use the foam because it may
be filled with bacteria. It is very inexpensive anyway.
Besides picking your most beautiful roses, you may
want to consider the most fragrant roses. The James
Alexander Gamble Fragrance medal is given to outstandingly
fragrant roses. Past winners of this medal
include: ‘Crimson Glory,’ ‘Tiffany,’ ‘Chrysler Imperial,’
‘Sutter’s Gold,’ ‘Granada,’ ‘Fragrant Cloud,’
‘Papa Meilland,’ ‘Sunsprite,’ ‘Double Delight,’ ‘Angel
Face,’ ‘Secret,’ and ‘Mr. Lincoln.’ David Austin Roses
have wonderfully fragrant varieties too.
I love bringing my garden indoors and it is definitely
worth the effort it takes. Subtle differences in
individual roses (that I don’t necessarily notice outdoors)
are more apparent when displayed in a container,
thereby increasing my appreciation for my roses. |
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Perennials and Shrubs |
June is a versatile month for gardening
in that you can take it easy and enjoy
work done in the spring, and simply adopt a maintenance
routine. Or you can achieve a new look to
your garden by adding shrubs and perennials that
can be planted at this time of year.
If you opt to simply maintain, now is the time to
step up watering and to fertilize regularly with a balanced,
low-dose fertilizer; this will help protect
plants from added stress of summer heat. Strong,
healthy plants and a clean garden are your best defense
against any measurable damage from harmful
insects. Cut back overgrown foliage to make sure
plants aren’t stressed by too much development too
fast and a target for hungry insects looking for weak
new growth. Of course, this advice doesn’t apply to
California native plants. You don’t want to fertilize
or cut them back this time of year. Sparse to no water
is the best plan for them.
On the other hand, there are still lots of options
available in June to create or add to a stunning perennial
flower bed for the summer months. The
unique looks of many Southern California gardens
come from tropical and subtropical plants, many of
which are surprisingly drought-tolerant. This trait
allows them to live happily with prairie plants that
can be planted this time of year. Prairie plants such
as salvia, penstemon, rudbeckias, Russian sage and
purple coneflower mingle quite happily with tropicals/
subtropicals such as blue hibiscus, gardenias,
Natal plum and bougainvillea.
June is the best time to divide bearded irises that
have finished blooming. Bearded iris should be divided
every three or four years or they will stop
flowering. Luckily this is an easy thing to do and
you will be rewarded with lots of extra iris to plant
or give away. Water the iris site well to make it easier
to dig up the tubers. With a pitch fork or spade
lift entire clump out of the ground; brush away soil
to expose tubers. With a sharp knife, cut newest
tubers with leaf fans away from the original center
tuber and dispose of the center tuber. Divide remaining
tubers and cut leaves down to three or four
inches. Replant in a sunny location like ducks sit in
water, half under soil and half above. Iris won’t
bloom if their tubers are entirely buried! |
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Fruits, Herbs and Vegetables |
You may not be a vegetable
gardener, but as spring-blooming perennials
begin to fade in the landscape, June is a good
time to make a trip to the nursery and check out what
herbs are available to tuck into some of those bare
spots in the garden. Most herbs will flourish as companions
to other border plantings. They will also attract
beneficial insects so you can use only Bt or insecticidal
soaps, rather than pesticides for insect control.
You can snip and use herbal sprigs in summer
recipes and dry some for future use. As spikes and
blooming heads develop, they can be cut for floral
arrangements or simply left in maturing bedding areas
through the fall. Thyme, marjoram and oregano
are sun-lovers and come in both upright types and
sprawling varieties that can act as ground cover.
Rosemary, basil and sage are all somewhat drought-tolerant
and have distinct and pleasant scents. French
tarragon offers clusters of golden blossoms in autumn.
Mint is not recommended as it is very invasive,
and so needs to be contained in a pot. But summer
through autumn, the color and variety of herbal
foliages can enhance bedding areas with new elements
of color and interest.
Summer fruits begin maturing this month here in
Orange County. Strawberries that have been bearing
for several months will need some mid-day shade to
extend the crop. As cane berries and blueberries
come into full production now, keep them well watered
and harvest at least every other day to get the
most of your crop. If birds are enjoying your blueberries
more than you are, keep them from the marauders
with a canopy of bird netting drawn taut over
3 or more stakes, or a cap-like structure of chicken
wire. Early summer plums, apricots and peaches,
will ripen quickly this month also. Pick them just a
little firm for canning. To enjoy them fresh, let them
ripen on the tree to peak flavor.
Begin picking vegetables as soon as they mature.
Summer squash, green beans, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes
and beets will be most tender when picked
small. Flavor diminishes and texture changes if they
are allowed to get too large. Continue to pull everyother
onion and enjoy them while the others mature.
Place the onions on a rack or screen in a sunny location
and allow them to dry for at least one week before
clipping off the dried leaves. Onions can be
used immediately or stored in a cool dry place for
several weeks. |
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