Plants in Flower:

Golden Rain Tree, Southern Magnolia, Mimosa, Smoketree, Rosebay Rhododendron, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Sweet Azalea, Gardenia, Rose, Summer Spirea, Florist Hydrangea, Yucca, Gumpo & Satsuki Azaleas, Hypericum, Trumpet Creeper, Phlox, Butterfly Weed, Daylily, Balloon Flower, Stokesia, Coreopsis, Poppy, Canna, Red Hot Poker, Rose-of-Sharon, and Summer Annuals.

What to Fertilize:

--Fertilize or sidedress your vegetables as needed.

What to Plant:

--Start plants of Brussels sprouts and collards for transplanting into the garden in mid-July.
--Plant the following vegetables in your garden in June: beans, lima beans, southern peas, pepper, sweet potato, pumpkin and tomato.

What to Prune:

--Late June is the recommended time to prune white pine. Trim new growth only.
--Prune narrowleaf evergreens like juniper and arborvitae late this month.
--Prune the bigleaf or florist hydrangea when the flowers fade.
--Trim hedges as needed.
--Remove water sprouts on any fruit trees and crabapple.
--Cut off the faded flowers of phlox, shasta daisy and purple coneflower to encourage a second flowering.
--Trim dried up foliage of your spring flowering bulbs after it turns brown.
--Prune off any dieback that occasionally develops on hybrid rhodendron.
--Pinch your chrysanthemums to encourage branching.

Pest Outlook:

Check the following landscape shrubs for the following insect pests: arborvitae, juniper & leyland cypress-bagworms, boxwood-leaf miner, crape myrtle-aphid, dogwood-borer, hemlock-spider mites, and pyracantha-lace bug. Apply control measures as needed.
--Spray for Japanese beetles as needed.
--Continue rose spray program.
--Keep spraying your tree fruits and bunch grapes with a pest control program.
--Check your asparagus plants for the asparagus beetle. Spray with recommended insecticide if beetles are observed.
--Spray the following vegetables if insects are observed: cucumber-cucumber beetle, squash-squash vine borers and aphids, tomato and eggplant-flea beetle, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower-worms.
--Watch for dark spots on your tomato leaves. If observed, spray with a fungicide for early blight.
--Spray the recommended herbicides on the following woody weeds: poison ivy, greenbriar, honeysuckle and kudzu. Contact the Polk County Extension Faculty for additional advice.
--Use pesticides sparingly. Spray only when necessary.

Lawn Care:

--Start any warm season lawns like zoysia, Bermudagrass and centipede grass in June.
--Continue fertilizing your warm season grasses like Bermudagrass and zoysia. Fertilize centipede grass the one and only time this month. Do NOT fertilize tall fescues now!

Propagation:

--Late June is the ideal time to take semi-hardwood cuttings. Azaleas, boxwood, cotoneaster, camellia, holly, pieris and rhododendron cuttings should be taken in June or July.

Specific Chores:

--Build a coldframe for rooting your shrub cuttings.
--Renovate your strawberry bed after the berry harvest is completed. Contact your county Extension center for more details.
--Water your favorite plants during periods of dry weather. Irrigate early in the morning. Late evening watering encourages plant disease growth.