May Gardening To~Do List

This is when nurseries are well stocked! Take all cash & credit cards with you to buy up all the cool pots, bedding plants and garden ornaments in the nursery! 

In the Edible Garden

For most of the region, both nighttime and daytime temperatures have warmed sufficiently to complete planting of the vegetable garden. Before you get gung-ho though, temperatures tend to dip here and there, so a night hovering under 50 degrees F. (10 C.) isn’t unusual just be prepared to cover plants if needed.

In summer beds, plant herb seedlings of annual kinds, including basil, cilantro, and parsley. Plant perennials like chives, oregano, rosemary, and thyme in permanent beds; put mint in containers to keep it under control.

The eight basic warm-season vegetables should go in soon: beans, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, peppers, squash, and tomatoes. Most vegetables can be safely planted outside in May but tomatoes and other tender vegetables like squash and beans may still need protection from cold nights depending on your area.

You can buy seedlings, but if you start from seed, you can get one packet of each veggie listed and be swimming in produce by summer’s end.

Now is the time to start a regular, deep-watering routine. We recommend using drip irrigation or soaker hoses to deeply saturate the soil without wetting the leaves of vegetables, which can help prevent diseases.

In the Ornamental Garden

When the danger of frost passes, plant seeds or seedlings of warm-season annual flowers. Experiment with something offbeat: Instead of dwarf French marigolds, try foot-tall signet marigolds, which bear a profusion of gold, lemon yellow, or tangerine flowers; instead of petunias, grow smaller-flowered calibrachoas; instead of Sensation cosmos, try ‘Pied Piper Red’ or Sea Shells Mix, with rolled up petals; instead of zonal geraniums, plant baskets full of ivy geraniums.

Peonies can be transplanted now or in the fall. If you have a new plant, either transplant it right away or leave it in its pot until fall (you can sink the whole pot into the ground where you will eventually plant the peony if you’d like).

The clematis vines are just out of dormancy, so now is a good time to go choose one and plant it.

Plant fall-blooming perennials like asters, Helenium, Japanese anemones, and mums now for spectacular autumn flowers.

Go beyond summer bulbs like callas, dahlias, gladiolus, and lily-of-the-Nile with potted summer hyacinths (Galtonia candicans) and hardy Chinese ground orchids (Bletilla striata).

Spring bulbs have flourished and faded. Now is the time to remove the spent blooms to preserve energy for the next season. Don’t cut back the foliage, allow that to die back naturally so the plant can reclaim nutrients for storage in the bulb.

Japanese maples’ emerging leaves are fresh, full, and (depending on the variety) infused with chartreuse, gold, pink, red, or variegation . Under plant to add color to shaded spots.

If you lack light, grow hybrid fuchsias in garden beds/containers; pinch them back as they grow to make them bushy. Also try astilbes, begonias, coleus, and impatiens as the weather warms.

If needed, prune spring-flowering shrubs, like rhododendrons, azaleas and lilacs, just after they have bloomed

Removing the spent blossoms not only tidies up the plant but preserves its energy since it isn’t using that to make seeds. Deadheading also helps prevent disease.

Shear hedges so that its bottom is wider than its top to keep the base from becoming light-starved and sparse.

Conserve water by spreading a 2-inch layer of mulch such as bark chips over the root zones of permanent plants like azaleas and rhododendrons. When you irrigate, water slowly and deeply in the early morning or evening when the air is cool and calm.

Lawn Care

You can aerate, top dress, and over-seed your lawn in May and June.  Mulch-mowing lawns to cycles nutrients and organic matter for better soil and turf health. The fine clippings also support soil building organisms and decomposers that keep thatch buildup in check. Apply a balanced lawn fertilizer according to package directions early this month.  Remember to keep it well-watered during these activities! 

Deal with those dandelions now, before they spread their seeds! Pull them and be sure to remove as much of the taproot as possible. You can leave them for the bees to enjoy, or as we learned once before, Make Pesto!! (it was yummy and no one knew it was a weed). 

If it's growing, you can mow it! Set your mower to medium height to avoid cutting off more than 30% at a time. Remember, the height of the grass generally equals the depth of the roots, so keeping grass a little longer helps build a strong support system.

Lastly, with all these plants going in the ground, it’s a good idea to check your irrigation system if you haven’t already. Test run each system manually for at least five minutes and watch the cycle to discover any leaks.

Indoor plants

In spring, most houseplants begin to grow more actively. Apply a fertilizer formulated specifically for indoor plants throughout the growing season. Be sure to follow the directions on the product label for best results.

Spring and summer are also a great time to repot any houseplants that may be rootbound or need a soil refresher.