June, 2026
Apples, Pears and Pomegranates
If you were seeing corky spots on your apples last year try adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of calcium nitrate to all the sprays for your apples and pears. It should help solve this problem
Check your apples and pears for fire blight. This bacterial disease causes the leaves and new shoots to turn brown or black and appear as if burned. If you find any, cut out the branches about 4″ below the infected area, making sure to disinfect your clippers each time you make a cut. Use a 10% clorox solution. This reduces your chances of spreading the disease.
Pomegranates like an alkaline soil. Lack of calcium will cause the pomegranate to crack. Calcium nitrate added to any sprays you may be putting on your plants or adding some calcium nitrate around the base of your plant and watering it in should help with this problem.
Stone Fruit
Continue to spray your plums and peaches for plum curculio about every 2 to 3 weeks with Mal-A-Cide (50% Malathion). You can also use Monterey Garden Insect Spray (0.5% Spinosad).
Spray peaches for fungal diseases. Your sprays should be about 2 to 3 weeks apart now. Suggested products are Hi Yield Captan Fungicide,Thiomyl, Dusting/Wettable sulfur. When using Thiomyl include Captan in the spray to reduce the possibility to developing resistant strains of brown rot.
Pruning
You may now start to prune back the spring only flowering roses. They may be pruned hard at this time and then the rest of the year just prune to shape. Fertilize them when you are finished.
The repeat flowering roses can be deadheaded at this time and pruned for shape. It is also a good time to give them some fertilizer.
If you haven’t done so already, prune your spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia and azaleas. Pruning later in the season will cut off next year’s flower buds. Prune arborvitaes, evergreen shrubs, juniper, yew, and hemlock for shape after their main spring growth is complete. Continue to mulch your planting beds with shredded pine park mulch or pinestraw to conserve water and prevent weeds. It is best to use pine straw on slopes since the pine bark may wash away.
Pepper Place
Petals is back at Pepper Place Market. We will have blackberries, blueberries and peaches available for June. Later in the summer we will have peaches, figs and muscadines and in the fall we will have persimmons, satsuma oranges and Meyer lemons.
If you are looking for something fun and interesting to do on Saturday morning from 7:00am to 12:00 noon think about going to Pepper Place. Here is a link to Pepper Place Market. Check it out!!
If you would like to order plants, we will be happy to bring them to Pepper Place and you can pick them up there. To do this please call the retail shop at 205-646-0069.
Vegetable Gardening
It is never to late to start a vegetable garden. We have a good supply of tomato plants right now, Heirloom, slicing tomatoes, Hybrid and Cherry tomatoes. We also have pepper plants, squash and cucumbers. Plus other vegetable plants.
Be on the look out for cabbage loopers and tomato horn worms. They can ruin your crop in a very short time. Use Dipel dust or Sevin to control these pests. Check tomatoes for aphids and spray with Neem oil late in the day to protect pollinating bees.
Squash vine borers can be a problem on your squash plants. Check your plants daily for signs of yellowing and break off the affected pieces. A row cover can be effective but should be removed for pollination. If you are seeing a dark colored end on your squash you may have blossom end rot. It is due to a calcium deficiency. It can be remedied by applying the appropriate amount of lime.
Zinnnia
Zinnia seeds and sunflowers can also be planted throughout the summer. If you are planting a large row of zinnias mix your seed with a little builders sand to keep the seeds from clumping together in one area and being too crowded.
If you haven’t tried growing the cactus flowered zinnia give it try. It is so pretty!
There are two diseases that effect zinnias powdery mildew and Alternaria blight. Powdery mildew is easily recognized by the white powdery growth of fungus of the leaves and stems. It thrives in warm and humid conditions and often effects the lower and older leaves
Baking soda has been proven by many gardeners to be effective in treating powdery mildew. Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 quart of water. Spray plants thoroughly, as the solution will only kill the fungus that it comes into contact with. However it is better at preventing the disease than killing the fungus once it is established
Spotting on the foliage is the most conspicuous sign of Alternaria blight. The spots are reddish brown and have grayish-white centers. Some preventative measures you can take are cleaning up debris; bury or burn if possible. The fungus may remain associated with plant material for 2 years. A two-year rotation schedule is satisfactory for home gardens and small isolated areas where disease spread can be limited. Do not use overhead irrigation. Water at the base of plants.
You can use protectant fungicides. Spray seedlings and young plants with azoxystrobin (Heritage), chlorothalonil (Daconil), copper, ferbam, mancozeb, or maneb.
Greenhouse Sale
Mark your calendars for the Greenhouse sale on June 20, from 7:00am to 2:00pm. We offer all our plants in the greenhouse growing area at wholesale prices. Plants, accessories and pottery at the retail shop will also be on sale
If you are planning to do some additional landscaping or starting a new garden this would be the sale for you.
