June 

Plant

• ​​Annuals  ​​
• ​Sow seeds of quick growing annuals (cosmos, marigolds, zinnias)

Light Pruning and Chores

• Prune climbing roses after they bloom (but repeat climbing bloomers are pruned in the fall)
  
• Continue to prune Spring flowering shrubs after they finish blooming
• Lilacs - watch for lilac borer and remove any infested branches
  
• Azaleas - this is about the last month to prune
• Prune only for a good reason - to remove elongated growth, to remove broken branches, to remove dead and diseased wood and to encourage fullness and flowering​
• Deadhead blooming plants and don't forget to deadhead peonies
• Cut back and layer perennials like phlox, asters (when 24" high) and monarda to control height​

Fertilize and Mulch

• Mulching beds improves soil texture and helps the bed retain moisture during dry spells and insulates during cold spells
• Applying 3 to 4 inches of mulch helps keep weed growth down
• Pine needles, straw and ground leaves make excellent mulch​
• Watering - plants need about 1" of water per week provided by nature or by you
  

Chores

• Divide daffodils if they are large and have had only a few blooms or if its been 4 years since you last divided them
  
• Daylilies can be moved safely now and water well to establish them
  
• Divide woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata)
• Divide spring and early summer flowering perennials after the blooms fade
  
• Cover cherry trees and blueberry bushed to prevent birds from eating them
  
• Clean up and weed garden beds
• Stake or provide support for tall growing perennials or ones that tend to flop
• Keep tools sharp and clean after use​
• Water new plants to help them become established ​

Tips: 

• Rhododendron - to improve blooms for next year, remove old blooms 2 weeks after the flowers fade, carefully and by hand and try not to injure new leaf shoots under the leaves
  
• Roses - when cutting blossoms, make a cut above a 5 leaflet leaf because the new stem is more likely to bear flowers than a stem from a 3 leaflet leaf
  
• Remember to keep your garden journal. Take photographs of your garden all year long.
• Adding one or two young willow  branches to a container for rooting cuttings can speed the rooting process. Willow wood contains a natural hormone that speeds the process.
• A ripe apple placed in a closed container with green tomatoes will encourage the tomatoes to turn red.  
• Clean your tools when you finish with one plant and before you move to the next.  
• Wear gloves for all of your gardening and yard chores;  protect your skin from sun, dirt, bugs, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and other plant toxins.  ​

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Thanks to Suzanne Aiello who compiled these tips for the Dolley Madison Garden Club.