Around the Yard

Things to do this week:

* Perk up gardenias. Before they bloom--as they are making buds--gardenias often yellow, but foliar feeding with liquid fertilizer helps. So do applications of iron chelates--and the warmer weather.

* Water lawns deeply. Bermuda grass, St. Augustine and other warm-season lawns should be green and growing strong by now. If not, there’s a good chance that the soil has become compacted or is too dried out. To fix, water the lawn several times in a row but for short periods of time, so water has a chance to soak in. Or use something like Perc-O-Late Plus, Pentrex or Water-In, which are soil penetrants that make water wetter (yes, really) so it soaks in.

If this doesn’t work, the lawn may simply be too old--this does happen--and may need rejuvenating or replacing. This is a good time of year to do either.

* Replant azaleas. If azaleas are yellow or not doing well, it probably has to do with the soil. This month you can carefully dig up the azaleas, improve the soil by adding coarse peat moss or other amendments plus iron chelates, and then replant the azaleas a little higher out of the ground. Though it sounds improbable, Frank Burkard of Burkard Nurseries in Pasadena says this works, but make sure you dig up a big enough root ball.

* Compensate for June gloom. It’s all too easy to over-water in June because so much of the month is overcast and cooler than expected. Even lawns can die out in spots from over-watering.