Guides / What to plant
What to plant in June
The longest days of the year, and growth is at its fastest. Sunflowers put on several centimetres a day, hydrangeas open and start needing serious watering, and mint wants cutting back before it flowers and the leaves coarsen.
These are Northern Hemisphere months. If you garden in the Southern Hemisphere, the equivalent month is December.
In the garden
Bloody cranesbill
Geranium sanguineum
How to grow Geranium sanguineum. A native hardy geranium for hot dry ground, the shear that brings a second flush, and telling a true geranium from a pelargonium.
Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum
How to identify and control bracken, Pteridium aquilinum. The commonest fern in the world, the carcinogen in the spores, and why bruising the fronds is the trick.
Calla Lily
Zantedeschia aethiopica
How to grow Zantedeschia aethiopica. Why it will grow in standing water when its coloured cousins rot, how to get it through a British winter, and why it is not a lily.
Catmint
Nepeta x faassenii
How to grow catmint, Nepeta x faassenii. The long-flowering edging plant for dry sun, why cats roll on it, and cutting it back for a second flush.
Chinese peony
Paeonia lactiflora
How to grow peony, Paeonia lactiflora. Why planting it too deep stops it flowering, how to support the heavy heads, and the ants that are not a problem.
Common poppy
Papaver rhoeas
How to grow common poppy, Papaver rhoeas. The cornfield poppy of Remembrance, why it only appears on disturbed soil, and sowing it so it comes back every year.
Dog rose
Rosa canina
How to grow dog rose, Rosa canina. The wild hedgerow rose, picking hips for syrup, why the seed hairs were used as itching powder, and its role as a rootstock.
Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
How to grow Digitalis purpurea. Why it flowers in its second year and then dies, how to keep a colony going, the plant it is dangerously confused with, and the drug it gave us.
French Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla
How to grow bigleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophylla. The soil chemistry behind blue and pink, why spring pruning costs you the flowers, and the difference between mopheads and lacecaps.
Giant hogweed
Heracleum mantegazzianum
How to recognise Heracleum mantegazzianum, tell it from common hogweed and cow parsley, remove it safely, and what to do if the sap gets on your skin.
Hemlock
Conium maculatum
How to identify hemlock, Conium maculatum. The purple-blotched stem, the mousy smell, how it differs from cow parsley and hogweed, and what to do if anyone has eaten it.
Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium
How to identify common hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium. Telling it from giant hogweed, why its sap can still blister skin in sunlight, and its value to pollinators.
Japanese knotweed
Reynoutria japonica
How to recognise Reynoutria japonica, tell it from its lookalikes, treat it over several seasons, and the legal duties that come with having it on your land.
Lady's mantle
Alchemilla mollis
How to grow Alchemilla mollis. The leaves that hold water like mercury, cutting back for a second flush, and staying ahead of the seedlings it scatters everywhere.
Mock Orange
Philadelphus coronarius
How to grow mock orange, Philadelphus coronarius. The scent, the one-in-three pruning cut that keeps it flowering, and why cutting it in winter removes every bloom.
Russell lupin
Lupinus polyphyllus
How to grow lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus. Cutting back for a second flush, why lupin aphid arrived and what it does, and the seeds that poison livestock.
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
How to grow sunflowers, Helianthus annuus. Sowing, staking, why young plants follow the sun and mature ones face east, and the spirals in the seed head.
Herbs and edibles
Beetroot
Beta vulgaris
How to grow beetroot, Beta vulgaris. Why each seed is a cluster, sowing to avoid bolting, eating the leaves, and the harmless red urine that alarms people.
Cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
How to grow cauliflower, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis. The hardest brassica, why buttoning and blindness happen, and blanching the curd white.
Curly Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
How to grow Petroselinum crispum. Why the seed takes a month to appear, why year two is a write-off, the difference between curly and flat-leaf, and the rash it can give you.
Elder
Sambucus nigra
How to grow elder, Sambucus nigra. Picking elderflowers at the right moment, why the berries must be cooked, hard pruning for coloured foliage, and keeping it in bounds.
Lemon balm
Melissa officinalis
How to grow lemon balm, Melissa officinalis. Cutting it back before it seeds, why it takes over a bed, and drying the leaves for tea.
Peppermint
Mentha x piperita
How to grow peppermint, Mentha x piperita. Containing the runners, cutting back for clean growth, why it cannot be grown from seed, and the mint that is dangerous.
Watercress
Nasturtium officinale
How to grow watercress, Nasturtium officinale. Growing it safely in a bucket or a pot, why picking it from the wild risks liver fluke, and the deadly plant that shares its ditches.
Indoors
Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia reginae
How to grow Strelitzia reginae. Why it refuses to flower for years, the cool winter rest that triggers it, and the sunbird the flower was built for.
Lucky bamboo
Dracaena sanderiana
How to grow lucky bamboo, Dracaena sanderiana. It is not bamboo, why tap water yellows the tips, and moving it from water into compost.