JUNE IS AN EXCELLENT month to plant new lawns and repair existing ones. You can use Palmetto plugs to fill those empty spots during the rainy season.
One of our worst lawn pests is mole crickets; they hatch in May, making June the best month of the year to treat your Bahia lawn. As you focus on your lawn, you can use sprays, baits, and granular controls. Remember to water heavily before you apply them, and watch for chinch bugs, caterpillars, and other insects.
You’ll also want to give that important second feeding to azaleas, camellias, ixoras, and gardenias. Be sure you use an acid-forming fertilizer heavy in essential minor elements. It’s also good for crape myrtle, crotons, dogwood, blue hydrangeas, magnolias, American holly, and podocarpuses. Don’t forget to prune those azaleas!
You can treat scale insects, spider mites, and white flies — which peak during the summer — with Malathion or Acephate. You also will need to continue feeding annuals and vegetables.
Lastly, as you honor Dad for Father’s Day this month, why not get out into the lawn and garden with him? Help him knock out the to-do list this month, and if you have any questions, you can stop by Doty Farm and Garden Supply in Winter Haven.
CREDIT
column by WILLIAM “BILL” DOTY
BIO: William R. “Bill” Doty is owner of Doty Farm and Garden Supply Inc., founded in Winter Haven in 1954. Bill graduated from Winter Haven High School and Florida State University. Growing up, he learned valuable lessons in listening and asking questions and was a student of the family business. Bill shares his knowledge with his customers daily and with the readers of Central Florida Ag News monthly.
