June in the Northeast

Houseplants

• Provide more frequent waterings and fertilizations as the plants add summer growth.
• Repot plants if needed, in pots one inch larger than their current pots. Some plants, such as spider plants and amaryllis prefer to stay underpotted.
• This is an excellent time to take cuttings of house and garden plants to propagate them for even more plants for your garden or for friends.

Bulbs

• Remove flowers after they fade.
• After the tops have died down from your spring bulbs, they can be dug, divided and replanted.
• Do not remove the leaves from bulbs until they have turned yellow and brown.

Compost

• Keep the compost pile turned.
• Add moisture as needed. Keep as moist as a wrung out sponge.
• Continue adding garden waste from weed seedlings, kitchen trimmings, and garden clean-up.

Vegetable Gardens

• Continue to sow heat tolerant vegetables of beans, chard, and cucumber.
• Watch out for squash bugs on squash - they will appear on the underside of the leaves.
• Complete setting out the initial plants of tomatoes and other warm season transplants, including eggplants, pepper, cantaloupe and watermelon.
• Harvest any remaining cool-weather crops, including lettuce, radishes, carrots, scallions and asparagus.
• Plant more vegetables in the garden - especially if the others have rotted or become diseased.
• Fertilize vegetables transplants moved outside 6-8 weeks after they were sown.
• Be aware of flea beetles eating small holes in flower and vegetables seedlings.
• Don't forget to purchase seeds of cool weather veggies (broccoli, cabbage). The plants may not be available later in the season.
• Pull up bolted lettuce, spent broccoli stems and other cool weather crops that are finished to make way for new warm weather plants.
• Make certain all crops have sufficient water. Peppers especially need to be well watered. Tomatoes like a steady supply rather than a wet-dry cycle, or else blossom end rot will occur.

Small Fruits

• Pick strawberries early in the day. Do not wash the berries until immediately before using them.
  Excessive rainfall will dilute the flavor of strawberries and make them more susceptible to plant diseases.
• Renovate strawberry (June -bearing) beds after they have finished production for the year. Fertilize and water to promote new growth for next year's crop.
• Pinch back growing tips on black and purple raspberries and blackberries.

Herbs

• Include basil and dill in your summer garden, as they make excellent warm weather additions.
• Pinch herbs to make plants bushier and stimulate more growth.

Lawns

• Leave nitrogen-rich clippings on the lawn.
• Maintain your mower by sharpening the blade at least monthly, or before the grass starts looking torn when cut, and check the engine oil.
• Spot treat for broadleaf weed problems such as dandelions or ground-ivy.
• Mulch borders to keep down weeds.

Perennials and Annuals

• Continue pinching chrysanthemums to make them full throughout June. Stop pinching around the 4th of July. Remember to pinch back mums by half until the middle of July if you want your mums to bloom in October. Otherwise, they will bloom earlier in September.
• Deadhead peonies after they flower.
• Remove spent blossoms of some perennials to prevent plants from self-seeding.
• Finish plantings of annuals.
• Don't forget to check your annuals for pests, as they usually arrive before the beneficial insects. The most common are aphids, who love those tender, juicy young plants. Handle aphids by pinching off the infested stems, washing them off with a forceful water spray from the hose, or spraying with insecticidal soap or fine horticultural oil (read the directions first).
• Watch out for spider mites on ornamental plants indoors and out.
• Thin clumps of daffodils and replant the bulbs while their foliage is still attached to make it easier.
• Put in another planting of gladiola corms so there will be glads in bloom when the first batch fades.
• Stake taller perennials for a neater garden appearance. Don't forget to stake the dahlias and glads. If you haven't already, plant dahlias and stake at the time of planting.
• Guide and control the growth of summer and fall blooming perennials that tend to become overly tall and lanky (e.g., beebalm, artemisias, asters, goldenrod, and others) by cutting back newly developing stems by about half after they grow to about 10 or 12 inches long. This will delay flowering somewhat, but it will result in shorter, fuller plants that may not need staking.
• Cut down euphorbias that are past their best.

Trees and Shrubs

• Replace disintegrated mulch. Mulch should be spread beginning 3-4" away from the base of the plant and extend at least to the drip line (right below the end of the longest branch). Apply mulch 3-4" deep.
• Prune spring-flowering trees and shrubs and trim hedges.
• Fertilize summer flowering trees and shrubs.
• Add some summer flowering shrubs to the yard if you have none. Some suggestions are: Annabelle Hydrangea, butterfly bush, chaste tree, crape myrtle, fringe tree, PG hydrangea, Rose of Sharon and St. John's Wort. For fall berries, plant beautyberry, chokeberry and winterberry.
• Water newly planted trees and shrubs deeply every 7-10 days when there is less then an inch of rain in that period.
• Pinch growth on pines when "candles" (new growth ) are expanding. Remove 1/3 to 1/2 to encourage bushier growth.

Roses

• Start deadheading roses to encourage rebloom and to improve plant health.
• Fertilize with a granular balanced fertilizer.
• If applying pesticides, do so in the coolest part of the day to avoid burning plant tissues. Fungicide can be applied to prevent and control black spot on roses.

Pests

• Insect and disease problems are apparent in the garden. Take preventative steps whenever possible.