June Gardening and Landscaping To-Do List

June bursts with floral finery that’s ripe for the picking. Grab your favorite snips, shears or scissors and head into the garden with a clean container of water. Cut stems at an angle, and remove all leaves that fall below the water line. Place your container in a cool place for a few hours or even overnight to allow blossoms to hydrate fully. Before arranging stems in your favorite vase, fill it with fresh water or a cut flower food solution. To keep your bouquet looking great, top off the water daily and replace it completely every couple of days.

Wrap up pruning late spring flowering shrubs, such as lilac, weigela, mock orange and deutzia, as soon as possible after blooming. Skip pruning on shrubs that will form berries later in the growing season. This list includes cotoneaster (shown), elderberries, hollies, quince and currant. Many viburnums also belong on this no-prune list, including the classic bird favorite, highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum).

Warm weather means caterpillars, from cabbage loopers on kale to tent worm nests in trees. Hand-pick caterpillars on vegetables, dropping them in soapy water or adding to a birdfeeder dish. Regular sprays with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) help control caterpillars, and it’s safe to use on edible crops. Simply wash them before eating.

For tent worm caterpillar nests in trees, cut down the nest and bury or stash it in a trash bag to put out with the trash. Burning isn’t necessary.

By mid-month, add stakes to every plant in the vegetable garden that might need them. Tomatoes are the obvious choice, but it’s also good to give pepper plants support. Their stems tend to be brittle, and once peppers have formed, the extra weight can lead to broken branches during summer storms. If you garden in a windy spot, you might want to stake Brussels sprouts, too, since they’ll be in the ground all season long.