Maintenance is key this month.(Home & Garden)

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), June, 2007

Byline: Denise Corkery Chicago Botanic Garden By the time June arrives, gardeners are beginning to enjoy the heart of the growing season. The danger of frost is behind us, there is usually an inch of rainfall each week to allay concerns of drought, and the show of color is well under way. June is an important month to stay on top of routine garden maintenance.

If you haven't already, mulch your trees and shrubs, especially those that might be under stress because of damage caused by female cicadas that split their bark to lay eggs. Three to 4 inches of organic mulch will help minimize the additional stresses of hot weather and drier days and will reduce the number of weeds. Here's what you need to do in the garden this month. Trees and shrubs -...