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Mercer County Horticultural Activities and Expectations
Click a month button above to view a list of possible problems you might find in your home, landscape or garden during that month and also see a list of suggested “To Do” items:
Things to Do This Month:
- plant hot weather vegetables, including lima beans
- divide and transplant bearded iris
- remove yellowed spring bulb foliage
- dig and replant or store spring bulbs while the foliage marks their location
- “June drop” occurs with apple – thin excess young fruit on fruit trees (early)
- apply second fertilization to shrubs at end of month (if needed)
- apply imidacloprid or halofenozide for grub prevention if needed
- control bagworm while small if needed
- plant zucchini seeds again late in month if vine borer a problem
Things to Watch for This Month:
- lone star tick nymphs, deer tick nymphs, and adult dog ticks
- carpenter bees
- 2nd generation birch leaf miner
- lined acrobatic ants
- fall webworm webs in trees
- flea beetles on eggplant
- ground nesting bees: plasterer, andrenid
- blackfly and gnats (begin to plague people outdoors)
- many types of scale crawlers
- spider mites on many plants
- black vine weevil injury appears on new growth of rhododendron, etc.
- four lined plant bug
- Japanese beetles and other scarabs emerge (end of month)
- lacebug injury starting to show
- eriophyid mite injury starting to show on ornamentals
- damage from spruce mites evident (mites active in cool spring and fall weather)
- end of termite reproductive swarms (generally)
- fire blight in evidence on apple, pear, etc.
- stress in lawns in shady areas
- evidence of winter injury shows with first heat stress
- yellow nutsedge in turf (begin control mid-month or in July if using halsulfuron)
- damage from spring leaf spotting disease evident (no control now)
- cinch bug injury starts in hot dry years
