Gardening Almanac for the Plateau

June

 

Weather – Average Temperature and Rainfall

The average maximum temperature for June is 74 degrees F., and the average minimum is  51 degrees F.  The average rainfall is 4.58”.

  Activities:

  1. New plants still need watering….this can be critical.
  2. If any of the foliage of your annuals or newly planted perennials are looking pale or yellow, and you have watered adequately, they may need fertilizer which is labeled for flowers.
  3. Watch your blooms for Japanese beetles.  If you have a dish of soapy water handy, just pluck them into it and they will drown.  Or, they can even be attacked with a fly swatter.
  4. Many perennials will keep flowering if cut back after their first bloom period, such as garden phlox, heliopsis, veronica, echinacea, and others.
  5. Tall perennials, before they bloom, may need to be staked to keep them from bending over in high wind or hard rain.
  6. Sunflower seeds can still be planted every week or two through July, so you have flowers until frost.
  7. Fall-flowering plants such as asters, mums, goldenrod, sedum and Joe-pye weed can be cut back to make them shorter and stockier when they bloom.  Cut their current growth three-quarters of the way back this month to have them looking great and in bloom this fall.
  8. Many annuals and perennials need to be deadheaded to keep them looking good and blooming all season.  Such plants include geraniums, certain petunias, marigolds, salvia and roses.
  9. Bearded iris should be divided soon after flowering, giving them plenty of time to get established and increasing the chance of flowers next year.
  10. Azaleas, rhododendrens, mountain laurel and other acid-loving species need to be fertilized one more time before August 15th, using an acid-based soluble fertilizer containing iron.  Also, continue to spray monthly against sap-feeding lacebugs.  Target the underside of leaves with Orthene, insecticidal soap, or a summer oil.
  11. This is the last month for planting green beans.
  12. Blossom-end rot of tomato is a “physiological” disease caused by uneven watering of the tomato patch and a deficiency of calcium in the soil.  It can be prevented by regular deep watering of the garden with drip irrigation or soaker hoses in addition to mulching for water conservation.  A Knoxville greenhouse grower recommends fertilizing with calcium nitrate rather than agricultural grade 10-10-10 fertilizer.  Some varieties that are resistant to this malady are ‘Celebrity’, ‘Goliath’ and ‘Mountain Pride”.
  13. Harvest cucumbers when they are ready.  If you stop picking them, the vine will soon stop production. 
  14. Remove root suckers from the base of all fruit trees, particularly apple and pear, and remove all thick water sprouts shooting up straight on the branches.  Also remove any diseased, dying or insect-riddled wood.  Continue a regular disease and insect preventative spray schedule until 10 days before harvest. 
  15. Early vegetables, such as radishes, green beans, and onions can be picked in June.  Take good care of tomato plants, peppers, melons, squashes etc. for later picking.
  16. You may find veggies or flowers growing in your compost pile…..this is the Volunteer state, remember, and volunteers can be mighty tasty.
  17. Feeding birds is critical during the winter, but also fun during the summer.  Remember to clean the hummingbird feeder often, and if you enjoy watching the birds outside your window, provide them with thistle seed, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and for the bluebirds, mealworms. 

 Wildlife: 

Birds are abundant in June, and you may see: 

Red bellied woodpeckers, Red headed woodpeckers, Hairy woodpeckers, Downy woodpeckers, Pileated woodpeckers, Muscovy ducks, Mallard ducks, Wood ducks, Oldsquaw, Canada geese, American goldfinches, English sparrows, Carolina wrens, Tufted titmice, White breasted nuthatches, Moourning doves, Carolina chickadees, Wild turkeys, Eastern bluebirds, Blue jays, European starlings, American crows, Purple finches, Northern mockingbirds, Northern cardinals, American robins, Great horned owls, Common screech owls, Rufous-sided towhees, Great blue herons, Little blue herons, Scarlet tanagers, Ruby throated hummingbirds, Wood thrushes, Kingfishers, Whip-poor-wills, Red winged blackbirds, Song sparrows, House finches, Dark-eyed juncos, Flickers, Great-crested flycatchers, Northern “Baltimore” orioles, White-throated sparrows, American tree sparrows, Indigo buntings, Evening grosbeaks, Rose-breasted grosbeaks, House wrens, Brown-headed cowbirds, Lesser goldfinches, and Northern bobwhites. 

 You may also see deer, fox, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and groundhogs.  Great-spangled fritillaries are the orange and black butterflies you may see in your garden.

 Plants: 

June flowers include: 

Butterfly weed, Butterfly bush, Larkspur, Dianthus, Impatiens, Hosta, Snap dragon, Yarrow, Johnny-jump-up, Pansy, Blanket flower (Galardia), Coreopsis, Sweet alyssum, Petunia, Astilbe, Begonia, Shasta daisy, Clematis, Sweet William, Sweet Woodruff, Hydrangea, Red hot poker, Gay feathers, Spiderwort, Day lilies, Sunflowers, False sunflower, Gay flower, Coral bell, Dahlias, Lavender, Black-eyed Susan, Speed well, Queen Ann’s lace, Smooth false foxglove, Morning glory, Pokeweed, Chicory, Climbing roses and Prickly pear cactus.

 

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