J une brings the first signs of summer scorching heat. The June gardener needs to prepare for summer. Here are some suggestions to help organize your days.

Care and maintenance:

Don't damage trunks of wooden plants with lawnmowers and weed eaters. This invites decay.

Cut garden flowers for indoor bouquets in the early morning or late afternoon. Place in deep water in a cool location for several hours before arranging. By now you should have a rose garden going. These make excellent floral arrangements for your home.

Place houseplants out-of-doors in a shaded garden bed to encourage new growth. Most houseplants love summer heat and humidity provided they never receive direct sun. Mist foliage to keep healthy.

Diseases to look out for:

Control powdery mildew on Crape myrtle using fungicides and Red Tip Photinias.

Sooty mold may appear on Crape myrtle. This condition is caused by aphids that secrete honeydew that blackens on the foliage.

Continue to spray rose bushes for blackspot with fungicides. Keep infected leaves removed from plants and ground area.

Fertilize Trees and Shrubs: Fertilize annual bloomers. Yellowing leaves near the tip of Azalea shoots indicate a lack of iron. Check soil pH and treat with iron supplement. Feed roses and young fruit trees with a nitrogen fertilizer. Feed established annuals and perennials with a high nitrogen/low phosphorus fertilizer such as 12-5-10.

Apply summer fertilizer to your lawn.

Hanging baskets root ball should be thoroughly soaked in a large tub and fed often. Liquid fertilizer may be added to the water every two weeks when watering. Basket plants for sun may include: purslane, lantana, verbena, petunias, dwarf and creeping junipers. Shade baskets may include bedding begonia, impatiens, ferns, airplane or spider plant, Swedish ivy and wandering jew.

Insect Control (IPM).

Insects to watch for on landscape plants include spider mites on junipers, roses, and verbena; lacebug on sycamore, and bagworms primarily on juniper.

Check for chinch bugs in the sunny areas of your lawn by tamping a large coffee can with both ends removed into the ground. Fill the can with water and watch for chinch bugs to float during the following five minutes. Bagworms and webworms can be treated with Bacillus thuringiensis (BT). For scale insects, including mealy bugs use summer oil or horticultural oil. Check for spider mites; spray with insecticidal soap.

Lawn care: Mow every 5-7 days, leaving the clippings on the lawn. Raise mower setting to reduce stress to turf in summer. Water during the cool of early morning. Avoid weed killers when temperatures are above 85 degrees.

Planning: Take a critical look at your landscape while at the height of summer development. Make notes of improvements to rearranged or replace plants and of overgrown plants that need to be removed.

Pruning: Prune dead and damaged wood from trees and shrubs as needed. Cut geraniums back place in light shade. Do not prune oak trees at this time since the beetle that carries oak wilt is active now and may enter any cuts you make.

Water Usage. Ornamentals and newly planted trees and shrubs should be helped through the heat of summer. Keep grass and weeds from competing with the plants for moisture with a good layer of mulch. Summer heat will cause stress on many ornamental plants so it is important that you water well and deep. It's not how often, but how much. Shallow watering cause roots to come to surface soils, which in turn, will dry out all the faster. Water lawn and garden thoroughly. As a general rule, soak to a depth of 8 inches. Finish watering by early afternoon.

By Derald Freeman TCMGA MG