Sirhornsalot
**The Official Horn Sports Landscaper and Landscap
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- Nov 6, 2013
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June 2025 has all the ingredients for a stellar landscaping month
Here we are in June and thankfully, things have really come together for this growing season. We’re in a good spot right now.
In the past five to six years, we’ve endured some pretty nasty summer weather with drought and heat waves dominating our weather patterns. It’s been the result of El Niños and La Niña’s, weather cycles created by patterns and ocean temperatures that affect us from thousands of miles away.
For the first time in a long while, we’re moving into summer without the influences of El Niño or La Niña. We can expect a far more normal weather pattern and that is showing up for us even now.
North Texas has seen good rainfall in the last few months. Lakes are full. Plants and trees are perking up. Here we are in June and we’re still seeing temperatures in the 80s and regular rainfall and storms.
It all adds up to June, this particular June, as an ideal set up for planting, landscape installations, landscape redo’s as well as further growth from our existing gardens and landscapes.
In other words, we’re having it much better than recent past seasons. During that time, we were seeing 100+ degree temps starting the first days of June and continuing on. This year, however, we’re still in the 80s and low 90s with no real heat forecasted for the first 15-18 days of June.
The rainfall is a huge benefit. Rain water carries with it extra molecules of oxygen and nitrogen. The extra oxygen allows plants to absorb more nutrients. The extra nitrogen is what provides the big green up after a rain event.
This is why there is such a difference in how a landscape looks days after a good rain as opposed to sprinklers (tap water). Tap water does not have those extra molecules of oxygen and nitrogen.
Another bonus is that most of our most feared critters (insects), such as Chinch Bugs (lawn), Spider Mites (shrubs and trees), Aphids and Scale are at their most active in very hot and dry conditions, as our summers have been the past several years. This is why we’ve literally had our hands full in North Texas the past few summers trying to keep those insects in check. So when weather is wet and mild, their numbers won’t swell.
The simple fact is, as a gardener or a landscaper or a homeowner trying to do it themselves, weather is a big deal. Not just overall, but daily. Take advantage of these normal conditions and weather. You’ll be glad you did.
Treat for Grub Worms this month
Grub worms are an inescapable reality in North Texas. These are the offspring of what we call “June Bugs” (Japanese Beatle) which dive into our soil some six inches down and lay their larvae. As the larvae develops, it becomes a large white worm which begins working its way to the surface.
When they reach the level of three inches below the surface, they begin feeding on the roots of our turf grass. Your grass begins looking lethargic and begins thinning and dying. No matter how much water you throw on it, or fertilizer, it does not improve. June is the month that grubs typically feed and cause damage, so a treatment will knock them out.
They are easier to kill when they are ingesting (feeding) which enables the poison to get into their systems and kill them.
There is nothing we can do to stop them from entering our properties. June bugs fly mindlessly from place to place, being drawn to whatever source of light they can find. So we can expect to have grubs during late May and June each year.
It’s easier to diagnose a lawn issue if you know what typically would be a problem during that time of year.
What to do . . . apply a granular grub killer. There are numerous brands that manufacture grub kill products. Check the back of the bag to see what your ratio (spreader setting) should be.
Most grub kill products will also kill a number of other lawn insects, even fleas and ticks.
If you have pets, keep them off the lawn after application until you get the product watered in well.
Shrub trimming
Make sure you take the opportunity to trim the shrubs this month. I advise against trimming them during July and August so June is your last chance until late August. The reason is that our temperatures can get hot during July and August and this makes a fresh-trimmed shrub vulnerable and weak and it will show up in the look of the shrub.
If you have not done so lately, take your shrub trimmers down to a lawnmower shop and ask them to sharpen your trimmer blades. Dull blades cause a “tear” instead of a cut. Tears open the plant up to disease and pests. A sharp blade will give them a true cut, which the plant can heal up relatively easily.
Fertilization
Your second application of fertilizer should happen in June. Make sure you buy a product that is designed for your particular turf. For example, if you are buying Scott’s products, you would buy Scott’s Turfbuilder® for a Bermuda lawn. You would not apply that product to a St Augustine and Zoysia lawn. Doing so would kill your turf grass, slowly and surely because the nitrogen level is very high which Bermuda loves.
For a St Augustine or Zoysia lawn, you would buy a different Scott’s product called “Bonus S.” This product is milder on the nitrogen, suitable for these two types of turf. This product is a weed and feed, with Atrozine being the weed killing chemical. This chemical can damage Bermuda turf.
So make sure you take time to read the labeling to learn which of the turf types the product is meant for. Going to this trouble will help you avoid a lot of heartache.
