Finally, the hazy, lazy days of summer have arrived – something many of us longed for during the cold snowy months of last winter! The temperatures are warm, the days are long and the rain has unfortunately been scarce! The heat and humidity have certainly returned too, so try to garden during the cooler temperatures of the early mornings and evenings. Keep records on daily temperatures and rainfall, since summers’ heat and nighttime temperatures impact a plant as much as winters’ cold. Always remember to wear a big hat, apply ample sunscreen to exposed skin and drink plenty of water while you garden!

Things to do:

• Weed and fertilize your containers.Water as needed, which is usually once per day. The plants are now beginning to approach their mature size and it is important to keep them well fed and hydrated. If you used slow release fertilizer pellets in your containers, you may wish to consider a reapplication near months end. Most fertilizer pellets only last 2 or 3 months and the rate of release increases as the temperatures soar above 85°F. For heavy feeders, like Brugmansia (picture above right) you should supplement slow release feed with liquid fertilizer – the slow release granules do not release the nutrients at a sufficient rate to support blooming.
• Some annuals, such as Coleus, Plectranthus and Persian Shield (Strobilanthes) would benefit from an occasional pinching of the tip, allowing lower buds to break dormancy and grow (as seen at right, 2nd picture, for Persian Shield). This allows the plants to become denser and prevents them from getting straggly or becoming excessively large and ‘eating’ the neighboring plants.
• Hanging baskets should receive a serious cutback in order to renew the plants for a late July through September display.
• Irrigate perennial and annual gardens for long periods ensuring a deep penetration of water into the soil should rainfall become scant.



• It is now ok to remove the old foliage of Narcissus as it is now turning yellow and next year’s bulbs have fully developed.
• Reapply mulch to retain moisture should it have become thin or disturbed through replanting of annuals or perennials or from weeding. Mulch only needs to be a total of 2-3” thick including older mulch and newly applies.
• For turf grass, raise the cutting height to 3” during these hotter and drier months to reduce plant stress. If you irrigate, do so for extended periods during the early morning to encourage deeper root growth. Try not to water in the evening, since that will promote various fungal problems. Avoid fertilizing turf during July and early August as that will necessitate more irrigation.
• For Roses, deadhead or remove the old flower blossoms, give them a light feeding and remove any leaves from the plant or on the ground that have blackspot, as this will help to reduce future outbreaks.
• Any Japanese Beetles on roses or other plants can be destroyed by flicking them into soapy water.



• Some perennials can be lightly trimmed such as the early blooming Salvias (Salvia nemorosa) or more heavily cut back such as Catnip (Nepeta faassenii) and Ribbon Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea var. picta) to initiate prolonged blooming or attractive foliage into the fall. Nepeta ‘Walkers Low’ is photographed at right 2 weeks after being cut back, with an unpruned specimen behind. Make certain you provide adequate irrigation if you cut the plants back hard. I leave the dried flowers of Yarrow (Achillea) and Astilbe on the plant, as they look attractive in the fall and winter. Early July is the latest time to pinch back unruly Asters and Chrysanthemums, since pinching any later will delay the bloom time too late into the fall.
• Weed! Even with the limited rainfall and heat, there is an endless growth of weeds. It is best to get them young before they become too noticeable and the root systems become too established. Worse yet, try not to let them seed, as the average lifespan of a seed is 7 years which equates to 7 more years of weeding! Mulching heavy does not equate to less weeds either, and will lead to more issues in the future since excessive mulch is not healthy for plants.
• Peas, radishes, lettuce, spinach and other cool season crops need to be removed, composted and replaced by beans, beets or any 80 day to maturity crop. Thin carrots to roughly 1” apart and beets to 2” to allow room for proper root development.
• At this point summer squash and cucumbers are beginning to come of size; harvest them small (4-6”) and frequently to ensure continued yields and tenderness. If you planted potatoes, they can also be harvested starting in mid-July. A second crop of cucumbers can be planted now to replace those planted earlier that will begin to loose vigor come late August and September.
• Check parsley for Black Swallowtail Butterfly eggs or caterpillars.
• If your Zucchini Squash gets the borer early in the season and collapse, and you still wish to grow squash in that location for this year, consider planting some of the Scallop Squash, often called Patty Pan Squash for an autumn harvest. They mature in about 50-54 days from seed and come in solid White, Golden, and a combination of White and Green Striped. Not only are they delicious, they will add color to the Thanksgiving Table as well!



• When watering tomatoes, make certain that the fruit remains dry in order to reduce the occurrence of blossom end rot. Keep the tomatoes staked (as seen at right). By positioning poles along a row of tomatoes and holding the tomatoes upright between two strings, the fruits can be kept off the ground, air can circulate through the plant (reducing disease risks) and ripening fruit is better seen. A close-up of how the plants are supported is pictured below, with the green arrows pointing to the twin strung on either side that was installed as the plants were growing in June and July.
• Maintain even moisture in the soil around tomatoes to reduce the risk of the tomatoes splitting. This is particularly true of Heirloom tomatoes and using a straw mulch will help maintain consistent moisture.
• Yellowing of the lowest leaves on the stems of tomatoes is an indication of Early Blight. It is best to remove these lower leaves, such that there is no contact with the soil and reducing the threat of future outbreaks. Also, wash your hands after removing the leaves before touching other plants to reduce the chance of spreading the disease.
• Provide a light pruning and training of rampant growing Wisteria stems, stray stems of Clematis, and other vines. A heavy pruning will invigorate excessive vegetative growth and less flower bud development.
• Prune water sprouts and suckers on small trees and large shrubs before they become too large and begin to deform the plant.
• With young ornamental and shade trees, you may wish to prune off or thin the lowest hanging branches if you have not already done so, as they will continue to droop lower until growth ceases towards mid-month. These low hanging branches shade out any plantings beneath, blocking important views of the garden and make walking about difficult. Remember, to cut branches back to – but not into – the branch collar at the base of the branch. Continue to visit local garden centers as new materials are continuing to arrive and there may even be a couple of mid-summer sales beginning!

Bruce Crawford
State Program Leader in Home and Public Horticulture (NJAES)

Summer has arrived! The days are wonderfully long, rain has proven to be ample to S date, and the temperatures promise to become more summer-like as the month progresses. June is filled with chores that linger from spring, as well as preparations necessary for the garden to continue to thrive well into late fall. As the temperatures rise, enjoy the coolness of the early morning and evenings for those tasks requiring the most exertion, with the heat of the day reserved for light duties. Try to water in the early morning as well, since evening watering tends to promote diseases and evaporation is most extreme during the mid-day hours. Also, don’t forget your hat and sunscreen. Finally, remember to sit down with your favorite cold beverage to write in your journal and to enjoy the fruits of your efforts!

Things to do:

Flowers

• Finish decorating containers and mixed borders with annuals and tropicals. The rather chilly weather of May has pushed back much of the planting of tender plants to this month. Do not be bashful about using larger and bolder plants such as Banana, Canna, Alocasia, Colocasia or even some of the larger Bromeliads such as Aechmea ‘Harvey’s Pride’ as pictured at right. The bolder foliage adds a wonderful textural impact as well as foliage color.
• Fertilize annuals with a liquid feed once per week through June to give them a good start. If you used slow release fertilizer in your containers, use a 50% dilute solution of liquid feed. During hot periods, containers may need to be watered twice per day, especially if they are in the sun and the pots are smaller than 12”.
• If you have deer, apply a deer spray weekly or after a heavy rain. It is best to rotate weekly between three different types of sprays for best effects.



• Deadhead May blooming Iris to reduce the occurrence of the Iris borer as pictured at right. Cut the flower stalks as close to the rhizome as possible. Study the blooms of your Iris; if the blooms are few and the foliage is limp or overly dense, the plant either needs division or to be moved to a more sunny location. If it needs division, August is the best time.
• Weed! All of the rain and cool weather from May has created abundant growth and the spring blooming weeds are about to go to seed. Remember, weed seeds last an average of 7 years! Also, do not be afraid or feel bad about removing seedlings of the more aggressive perennials. Brunnera macrophylla is a beautiful spring blooming plant, but can monopolize a garden!
• Deadhead the Peonies as they finish blooming.
• Lightly fertilize repeat blooming daylilies and Roses at the end of the month for a good August/September bloom.
• Resist the urge to remove the yellowing foliage of Daffodils and other bulbs until it has totally turned brown. The foliage is producing the carbohydrates and storing them to ensure a good floral display for next year.
• Plant native plants! Help feed out butterflies, moths, native bees and caterpillars. We need our insects to thrive so that we can too!

Shrubs and Trees

• For small trees and shade trees, pinch off most of the water sprouts that you see growing from branches or stems – typically they appear at points where water sprouts or a branch was pruned off this past winter! Removing them as they start to grow discourages future dormant bud break.
• Many low branched trees may need to have portions of the lowest branches removed, as the new growth from May and early June adds weight to the branch, causing it to droop ever lower. This is a chore that often needs to be done each year until the tree is at least 15-20 years of age and the stems are of significant size to support the added weight.
• Selectively prune 2-3 stems of leggy multi-stemmed shrubs such as Fothergilla that may be growing in too much shade back to 6-8” tall too promote new growth from the base. Early June is also a great time to prune Azaleas and Rhododendrons as they finish blooming, since it will not impact next year’s bloom!

Turf

• Cut turf weekly. During periods of drought, irrigate the turf for extended periods in the early morning, promoting deep root growth. As the summer heat begins, raise the cutting height to 3” to reduce the stress on the turf.

Vegetables

• Harvest spinach, lettuce, radishes and arugula daily. As the days become hotter, the lettuce will become increasingly bitter and less tasty. These plants will also produce flowers or ‘bolt’, after which the foliage becomes extremely bitter, so it is important to harvest while the plants are smaller. Once the plants begin to bolt, remove them and plant summer squash, okra, cucumbers, pole beans, or other vegetables that will provide a yield in 65-70 days (September into October).
• Early June is time to thin your beets to 3” apart should you wish to harvest baby beets or 5-6” should you wish them to grow larger. Either pull out or cut off the  Harvest spinach, lettuce, radishes and arugula daily. As the days become hotter, the lettuce will become increasingly bitter and less tasty. These plants will also produce flowers or ‘bolt’, after which the foliage becomes extremely bitter, so it is important to harvest while the plants are smaller. Once the plants begin to bolt, remove them and plant summer squash, okra, cucumbers, pole beans, or other vegetables that will provide a yield in 65-70 days (September into October).
• Early June is time to thin your beets to 3” apart should you wish to harvest baby beets or 5-6” should you wish them to grow larger. Either pull out or cut off the baby foliage, should you not wish to disturb the soil. Don’t throw away the leaves either, since they are a great addition to salads!



• It is not too late to plant tomatoes. Planting in June often avoids the problems with early blight as well! If the plants are leggy, bury the stem up to the first true leaf, as the stem will produce roots and yield a sturdier plant. As the tomatoes grow, make certain that they are staked, lifting the fruit to come off the ground and reducing the chance of decay.
• For tomatoes, it is ideal to pinch off the lower shoots up to the point of the first flower cluster (pictured at right). This will allow for a more manageable plant and a more sustainable crop of fruit.
• Plant Eggplant, Peppers, Okra, Basil and other plants that prefer heat of summer early in the month.
• Mulch vegetables with newsprint or cardboard covered with straw, reducing weeds and water loss. This is ideal for Heirloom tomatoes since they need consistent soil moisture in order to discourage splitting of the fruit. You can also mulch with lawn clippings provided that herbicides or insecticides were not applied to the turf.
• Stop harvesting asparagus and rhubarb. They need to produce stalks and leaves of sufficient size in order to develop the energy reserves for next year’s harvest (the same reason that you do not remove bulb foliage until it has turned totally brown).
• Compost! If you have yet to set up a composting bin, this is a good time to start. Not only can most weeds (without seeds) go into the bin, but so can bolted lettuce plants and greens left from the dinner table. It is a great way to do our part to help reduce landfill waste.

Bruce Crawford
State Program Leader in Home and Public Horticulture, NJAES

Adequate April showers combined with seasonally appropriate temperature has provided early May with a very nice assortment of spring blooming plants. Although rather chilly for those looking forward to those summer days of 90 degrees, the cool weather will allow spring blooms to last and to be enjoyed to their fullest! May is always a hectic month, so take the time to make notes in your journal and take long evening strolls to smell and enjoy the fruits of your efforts.

Things to do:

• Prune leggy Azaleas and Rhododendrons as they finish blooming. This will improve the habit or shape of the plant while still ensuring flower bud development for next year.
• By late May it will be clearly evident which parts of a plant – if not the whole plant – has died back from winters chill and snowpack. Always check the base of the stems to see if mice have girdled any stems, often a problem when the snowpack has persisted for a long period of time.
• If you have fertile soils, some perennials such as New York and New England Asters as well as the taller Sedums should be pinched in mid to late May to prevent them from flopping later in the season.
• Some plants such as Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) can be easily sown in the garden by seed. Look under the foliage for the seed pods (pictured at right) and lightly squeeze the pod. If it splits open, the seeds are rip and spread them close to where you would like to add some plants. I say close since the seeds are moved about by ants, so the planting will take on a very naturalistic appearance, based upon where the ants finally drop the seeds! Other plants such as Winter Aconites (Eranthis) have seed that is dispersed out of the open, cup-shaped seed capsules by wind. As the plants rock back and forth, the seed is tossed a short distance from the capsules (as seen in the 2nd picture at right) and they will germinate the following spring. Longwood Gardens has found distributing the plant by seed to be a far more successful method of spreading the plants about than the typical method of installing the tubers in the fall.



• Let bulb foliage turn yellow or tan before removing to ensure proper bulb and flower development for next year. Do not tie it together or braid it, since that reduces that amount of surface area exposed to the sun and its ability to make both sugars and next year’s embryonic flowers.
• For bulbs such as Eranthis (Winter Aconite) and Galanthus (Snowdrops), dig and divide existing clumps as you will have far more successful results replanting the geophytes (plants with an underground storage organ, like a bulb or a corm) than planting newly purchased ‘bulbs’ in the fall!
• If your Narcissus (Daffodils) failed to bloom this year, it may be they are planted too shallow for the bulb to grow to the proper size to bloom. Dig them in late May (as pictured at right), tease apart the clump into several smaller clumps and replant around 6” deep. In the clump pictured at right, notice the small bulb size of the one pulled down lower, far too small to yield a flower!



• For a neat garden, edge those bedlines and compost the remnants!
• Always make certain the soil has drained adequately before working it, as disturbing the soil while too wet will destroy the soil structure. If you can make the soil into a baseball, it is probably too moist!
• For vegetable gardens, use a broadfork to gently loosen and aerate the soil. A broadfork has 3-5 sharp tines that penetrate into the soil with two 5’ long handles (as pictured at right). By using your body weight against the handles and rocking back and forth, the soil is loosened but not disrupted. Tilling the soil damages both the earthworms who help aerate the soil and beneficial fungus, which assist the vegetables in obtaining nutrients and water. Current research shows that the fungus also produce and transfer the amino acid Ergothioneine to vegetables. Ergothioneine is an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties that has been shown to battle chronic illness and allow people to live longer. You have to love fungus!  Get the soil for Vegetable Gardens tested for nutrients and pH level if it has not be tested in a couple of years.
• If you are looking to ease into growing vegetables or you only have a deck, plant your cool season crops in containers. They are both ornamental and delicious (bottom picture on right)!
• Thin those cool season vegetables like beets that were directly sown during April. Thinning will allow them to develop more fully and the greens from the thinned beets can be added to salads!



• Start to plant frost tender vegetables. For the eager, the wall of water can be used for tomatoes and other tender vegetables that are planted during the potentially cold first half of the month, although there is no harm in waiting until early June! In fact, adding a second planting of tomatoes in early to mid-June will help to ensure tomato harvest through September.
• Plant out tender annuals after the last frost-free date in your part of the state (generally May 15th, but frosts can occur later). Temperatures in May can fluctuate from 90° one day to 30° the next! Also, certain annuals that like it warm, such as Catharanthus (the annual Vinca) and ornamental Sweet Potato Vines should not be planted until late May or early June for best results.
• Remove the Banana and Cana roots from the basement and plant them in a sunny location in soils that are enriched with compost to help hold moisture.
• The Colocasia and Alocasia roots or potted plants can be planted out in early May. They are surprisingly tolerant of cooler temperatures when young.
• Pot up the Dahlia tubers or plant them directly in the soil come late May.
• Cut those lawns. Remember, 2 ½ – 3” length is far healthier for the turf than a 2” cut. Do not remove the clippings unless they are exceptionally thick, since they release nitrogen back into the soil as they break down.



• Spot treat for dandelions or any other aggressive lawn weed.
• Finish mulching perennial or shrub borders during the early part of May and start to weed! Remember the average weed seed’s life is 7 years, so remove those weeds before they go to seed.
• Frequently visit local garden centers as new additions are coming in weekly.
• Read the notes that you made this winter and last May and reflect on how to improve the garden. It is now time to put your thoughts into action!

Bruce Crawford
State Program Leader in Home and Public Horticulture (NJAES)