To Plant:

Annuals:  zinnia, cosmos, sunflower, celosia, penta, periwinkle, gomphrena, portulaca, mexican heather and potato vine

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Clean up and replant containers—annuals, perennials, herbs, hibiscus, vegetables in larger containers

Top new containers with light layer of mulch to conserve water; use decomposed granite, pea gravel or other grit for potted succulents

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Plant: herbs

 

Basil, catnip/catmint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, Mexican mint marigold, peppermint, lemongrass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bay laurel

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Plant: food crops

 

Cantaloupe, okra, Southern peas, sweet potato slips, pumpkin, summer & winter squash, watermelon

 

Prune

 

Trees: DO NOT prune red oaks and live oaks unless damaged. Spray immediately with pruning paint.  No need to apply pruning paint to other trees

Dead head flowering plants

Cut back fall blooming perennials like aster

Once-only spring bloomers if you haven’t already

Fertilize

Fertilize bougainvillea with high nitrogen

Citrus with high nitrogen fertilizer like Citrus-tone. Fertilize every few weeks through growing season.

Insects

 

Watch for aphids and spider mites.

Aphids and other insects can create sooty mold on plants, a fungus that develops from their secretions (honeydew).

Walk the garden in early morning to pick off stink bugs and largus bugs from tomatoes. Check under the leaves for eggs.

Lawn

 

Move the lawn mower setting up to high. As we head into summer, keep the roots cool by leaving the grass long. Don’t remove more than 1/3 of the top at a time.

 Grubs Treatments must be made in summer or early fall. Grubs’ feeding stops as the soil turns cold in November, and by spring they’ll be in copper-colored pupal cases changing into the adult beetles.

It takes 5 or 6 grub worms per square foot to do measurable damage. At smaller populations, plants can usually outgrow any damage they do. Treatment is generally not justified at those lower numbers.

To test for the extent of your grub population, use a square-bladed shovel to dig a one-square-foot test in your lawn. Lay the sod aside carefully, and look through the root zone in the top 3 inches of soil. That’s where you’ll find the grubs.

Symptoms of grub damage: by late September and October, grass may begin to look dry in irregular blotches (as opposed to the round, brown 18- or 24-inch spots caused by brown patch fungus). If you pull on the grass, and if grub worms are present, the turf will come loose, runners and all. The grubs will have devoured the roots. As a comparison, grass that’s been impacted by brown patch will pull loose easily, too, but only the dead leaf blades. Brown patch is a leaf disease only. Runners remain firmly attached to the soil.

If you find grubs, apply a labeled insecticide that lists white grub worms clearly on its label. Apply the spray or granules carefully and evenly across the entire lawn, then water deeply to carry them 2 to 3 inches into the soil.