What to do in your garden in June - Checklist: Northern California - gardening tips - Brief Article

Sunset, June, 2002

PLANTING

* CANNAS. Zones 7-9, 14-17: Set out 'Tropicanna', noted for its green-, pink-, red-, and yellow-striped burgundy foliage and bright orange flowers. If these colors don't work in your garden, try 'Black Knight' (red with dark burgundy foliage), 'Miss Oklahoma' (melon pink with deep green foliage), or 'Richard Wallace' (bright yellow with apple green leaves). If you can't find plants at your local nursery, have them order one for you from Monrovia Nursery (wholesale only). In zones 1 and 2, plant in large pots, or be prepared to dig and store plants next winter.

* HERBS. To make sure you have enough basil and cilantro to use fresh and for cooking through the summer and fall, plant successive crops of seeds every six to eight weeks. For basil, try 'Mrs. Burns' Lemon', 'Salad Leaf', or one of the wonderful aromatic Italian types, such as 'Italian Pesto' or 'Profuma di Genova'. Choose a slow-bolt (slow to set seed) variety of cilantro. (All types are available from Renee's Garden, sold on seed racks at nurseries or online at www.reneesgarden.com).

* PLANTS FOR DAD. Nurseries carry a great assortment of interest plants suitable for gifts on Father's Day. Consider a blooming bonsai, bougainvillea, daylily, or gardenia, or a citrus tree such as 'Clementine' tangerine, 'Improved Meyer' lemon, or kumquat.

* VEGETABLES. Sow seeds of beans (bush and pole types). For corn, try one of the super sweet or sugary enhanced varieties, which stay sweeter longer after harvest. New this year is 'Silver Princess', an early-maturing sugary enhanced white corn with great flavor (from Park Seed; 800/845-3369 or www.parkseed.com). Set Out transplants of cucumbers, eggplant, melons, okra, peppers, pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes.

MAINTENANCE

* CARE FOR ROSES. To encourage growth and additional flushes of flowers, feed repeat bloomers with a complete fertilizer. If leaves are yellow with green veins, also apply iron chelate. Water deeply, after fertilizing, by running a hose into a basin of soil around the plant's drip line. Or use drip irrigation (place an emitter on each side of the plant). To conserve soil moisture and keep roots cooler, spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of much under the bushes (keep it away from trunks). Remove faded flowers.

* PICK HERBS. For the best flavor, harvest individual leaves or sprigs before flower buds open. If plants are blooming, use flowers to decorate foods.

* PROTECT JAPANESE MAPLES. Zones 7-9, 14: When temperatures rise, these sensitive trees often suffer from tip burn (leaves turn brown along the edges). One easy way to minimize damage is to spray the foliage with an anti-transpirant such as Cloud Cover (available at many nurseries and home improvement centers). Also, mulch the soil under the branches with an organic material such as ground or shredded bark (avoid piling it against the trunks) and water trees regularly.