LAWN MAINTENANCE: Check out the UC GUIDE TO HEALTHY LAWNS: Want to know what type of lawn you have and how to maintain it? UC Guide to Healthy Lawns is an excellent resource. So is the UC "Lawn Watering Guide for California".

LANDSCAPE TREES: Having any tree concerns? Call a certified arborist for help.

Transplant palm trees now, while dry conditions discourage root rot.

BACKYARD ORCHARD TREES, SHRUBS & VINES: Provide extra support for fruit-laden branches. Get variety-specific help on the University of California's The California Backyard Orchard website. Suckers & water sprouts: Watch for these in trees and shrubs. Remove so they don't sap tree/shrub strength.

Clean up fallen fruit to avoid pest and diseases. If you haven't done so already, paint trunks of young fruit trees with interior white latex paint cut 50% with water to protect against sunscald.

The following links to the University of California Backyard Orchard care sheets will keep you on track and on your way to a tasty harvest:

CITRUS CARE

RECOMMENDED FERTILIZER APPLICATION RATES:

NITROGEN (N): regular application required
1 to 2 year old tree: 2 tablespoons nitrogen fertilizer 3 to 4 times per year or 1/10 lb. nitrogen fertilizer per year
3-year-old tree: 1/4 lb. nitrogen applied to dripline before watering
4+ year old tree: 1 lb. actual nitrogen per tree per year. So, if your nitrogen fertilizer contains 33% actual nitrogen (33-0-0), you will need to apply 3 lbs. Some references recommend dividing applications into thirds, totaling 3 applications per year (early spring, summer and fall). If you follow that recommendation, make sure you avoid feeding oranges and grapefruit during summer to avoid thick rinds, lower juice content and re-greening of Valencia oranges.
PHOSPHORUS (P): 1 lb. phosphate per tree every 3 to 4 years per mature tree
POTASSIUM (K): as needed (deficiency: general leaf pattern begins as a yellowing of the tips and margins, which then gets broader. Necrotic areas and spotting can develop on the leaves) 2.5 to 5 lbs. potassium per mature tree per year for 2 years if deficiency is noted.
MAGNESIUM (Mg): as needed (deficiency noted by yellowing between veins of older leaves followed by dropping.)
ZINC: as needed (deficiency symptom is "mottle-leaf", exhibited by "small terminal leaves with mottling between large leaf veins". Apply late-winter or early spring foliar spray (carefully follow label directions)
IRON: as needed (deficiency symptom is yellowing between large leaf veins... i.e. interveinal chlorosis)
foliar spray (follow label directions)
MANGANESE (Mn): as needed (deficiency: young leaves turn light green between veins, often more noticeable on tree's north side).

Combination "micronutrient sprays" are available at your local nursery if you suspect multiple deficiencies. A specialized citrus fertilizer or "citrus food" likely contains all necessary macro- and micro-nutrients.

References: California Master Gardener Handbook and the following books:

IRRIGATION: Adjust for hotter weather. We're into the dry season, so chances are if it isn't a native plant, it will need supplemental watering. The goal is to water as deeply and infrequently as possible. Shallow, frequent watering (i.e. 10 min/day, 7 days/wk) is a no-no because you'll end up with shallow root systems requiring frequent watering and conditions that encourage disease. Also, early morning is the best watering time if you want to discourage heat-loving, water-conducted plant pathogens.

Now is a good time to check your sprinkler and drip system for problems. Need to make repairs but not sure what parts you need? Visit smaller, customer service oriented hardware stores like Emigh and East Sac. Hardware, where they'll take the time to point you to the right whatchamacallit for your thingymajigger.

Download the free UC publication "Lawn Watering Guide for California". This excellent guide solves the mystery of when to water and how much to apply.

Pay special attention to young or newly planted stuff and check your pots daily!

ANNUALS: There's still time to add summer color. Think impatiens, petunias, zinnias and more.

PERENNIALS: Continue deadheading spent flowers. Take cuttings from geranium, salvia, verbena, and other herbaceous perennials. After dipping in rooting hormone, plant in 50/50 perlite/peat moss mix. Enclose pots in clear plastic bags or seedstarting dome (give occasional air). Roots should form in a couple weeks, but wait several more before planting out.

Dig, divide and replant bearded iris after it finishes blooming. Do this now through August.

Stake top-heavy perennials like dahlia and gladiolus.

WEEDS: See the UC Weed Gallery for proper identification and the UC IPM Pest Notes for how to manage them.

PESTS: Visit the fabulous UC IPM website for control measures. Here are a few timely links to pest pages:

Slugs & Snails: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7427.html
Aphids: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html
Mosquitoes: Eliminate bodies of stagnant water where possible and use mosquito dunks where not. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7451.html
Ants: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html
Earwigs: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74102.html

Got ants in your fruit trees? Ants don't damage trees directly, but they do nurse aphids and scale. Apply a Tanglefoot or sticky tape barrier around the lower part of the main trunk.

Want to see what the GOOD GUYS look like?