California poppies growing in sunny areas on the valley floor are now in full bloom. (Photo: Jeannette Warnert)

Tasks

• Pull weeds and hoe often to minimize reseeding.
• After mulching, check to make sure your irrigation runs are watering through the mulch to the correct rooting depth. If not, increase run times.
• Use a strong stream of water to rinse aphids from rose bushes.

Pruning

• Remove dead branches from shrubs.
• Deadhead roses to encourage more blooms.
• Thin the fruit of apricot, peach, nectarine and plum trees to about 6 to 8 inches apart.
• Use trimmings in compost pile or chip and use as mulch.

Fertilizing

• Feed bedding plants with all-purpose fertilizer high in phosphorus.
• Fertilize citrus. Follow directions on the container.

Planting

• Plant summer vegetables at two-week intervals to prolong harvest.
• Perennials: Million bells (Calibrachoa), Lily-of- the-Nile (Agapanthus), alstroemeria.
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: fortnight lily (Dietes).
• Fruits and vegetables: cantaloupe, chard, chayote.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: bougainvillea, violet trumpet vine (Clytostoma).
• Annuals: verbena, lisianthus (Eustoma).

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: bachelor's button (Centaurea), California Poppy (Eschscholzia), godetia (Clarkia), coreopsis.
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: iris.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: oleander (Nerium), Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica).
• Fruits and vegetables: cherries, cucumber, grapefruit, green onions.

Things to ponder

• To water hillsides, set emitters on upper side of slope.
• Continue to monitor and destroy slugs and snails.