June Gardening To-Do List

Time to plant:

Flowers: Mexican heather, ruellia, gerbera daisy, dusty miller, gazania, vinca, night and day purslane, iceplant, moss rose, caladium, coleus, celosia.

Trees: Natives: live oak, anacua, Rio Grande ash, mesquite, retama, wild olive.

Non-native: Cottonwood, crepe myrtle. Buy only container grown plants. But if must buy trees with root balls wrapped in burlap, make sure the tree is green and healthy.

Palms:  Summer is the perfect time to plant palms. 
Shrubs: bougainvillea, plumbago, manzanita (barbados cherry), lantana, hachinal ,coral bean, yucca, butterfly bush (buddleia) butterfly weed, wild petunia (ruellia), hibiscus. Note: most of these shrubs attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden.

Vegetables: Peppers.

Herbs: mint, rosemary, rue, oregano, hierba buena.

Remember:
-When planting trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs use mulch around the base of the plant to conserve moisture.

-Water recently planted materials once or twice a week and water deeply.

-Try to give your tomatoes afternoon shade.

-Keep all flower beds and vegetable garden areas free of weeds so they don’t compete with your plants for moisture and nutrients.

-Add 1 inch of organic matter to your gardens and beds, work it in.

-Regularly check for whitefly and aphids, control with soapy water spray. Be sure to spray under the leaves.

-Check for grubs in your lawn. Brown patches are an indicator. Control with a granular insecticide such as Dursban or Diazinon.

(Information source: Successful Gardening in the Magic Valley of Texas, Dist. VI, Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. and Native Trees- and Native Shrubs-of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas Landscape Uses and Identification, Native Plant Project, PO Box 1433, Edinburg, TX)