Gardening This Weekend: June 12, 2025
Here are my timely tasks for this early summer June weekend. Take a quick glance to see how many you need to accomplish.
PLANT
• Hot-weather annuals. Copper plants, firebush, Gold Star Esperanza, pentas, angelonias, moss rose, hybrid purslane, lantanas, fanflower, purple fountaingrass for sun. Coleus, caladiums, tropical foliage for shade.
• Tropical annuals: bananas, crotons, mandevillas, plumbagos, hibiscus, bougainvilleas, and others.
• New turfgrass from seed, sod, or plugs. Water once or twice daily for short intervals. Do not allow grass to dry out during the day. You’ll be able to cut back on frequency of irrigation within a few weeks once the grass has established good roots.
• Crape myrtles while nurseries have their best supplies. Do your homework ahead of time and know the varieties you’re seeking. The website of our Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney may be of help. See the list of varieties there.
PRUNE
• Mow lawn at recommended height. Raising mower blade does not improve heat durability. Tall grass becomes thin, less able to crowd out weeds. Only exception would be with bermuda turf if you are mowing into stem stubble each time you cut the lawn. If that’s the case, raise mower one notch for remainder of season, then drop it back down with first mowing next spring.
• Blackberries as harvest is finished to cut fruiting canes completely to the ground. They will never bear fruit again. Trim tips out of this year’s canes to encourage them to send out more side branches.
• Dead and damaged branches from trees and shrubs. Some were hurt by cold this and prior winters. Others have been broken by this spring’s windstorms. Get things tidied up as soon as you can. If you’re pruning oaks, it’s a good idea to have a certified arborist familiar with oak wilt do the job for you to avoid problems of introducing it to your damaged tree.
• Reshape overgrown shrubs, notably spring-blooming types.
• Pinch growing tips out of coleus, Mexican bush sage, fall asters, mums, and other annual plants that tend to grow tall and leggy.
FERTILIZE
• Bermuda turf with all-nitrogen food (30-40 percent of that N in slow-release form). Continue on that 8- or 9-week repeat until mid-fall.
• St. Augustine lawn with same type of food, but let this be final feeding until early September to lessen chance of gray leaf spot in the heat.
• Iron deficiency (yellowed leaves, dark green veins on newest growth first) for plants in alkaline soils. Add iron product with sulfur soil acidifier. Keep iron products off masonry and painted surfaces to avoid staining.
• Patio pots, hanging baskets with water-soluble, high-nitrogen food weekly.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Last call for second application of pre-emergent granules (Dimension, Balan or Halts) to prevent germination of crabgrass and grassburs. This is a “booster shot” to follow up your late February or early March application. If you missed that first one, this one would be a waste. Gardeners in the Panhandle can make this second application in 10-15 days.
• Spider mites are showing up on many types of plants, both in the landscape and garden. They start at the bottoms of the plants then work their way upward. Leaves turn yellow, then tan, then brown and crisp. Thump suspect leaves over white paper and you’ll be able to see the nearly microscopic pests. Apply general-purpose insecticide labeled for control of mites.
• Apply DEET insect repellent to your clothes and body to protect yourself from ticks, spider mites, chiggers, and mosquitoes. It’s a lot more effective and economical than trying to spray your entire lawn and landscape.