May in here! 4/28/03

May is a beautiful month in the garden. This year it is even more 

colorful. With spring weather arriving late many of the early blooming 

trees, shrubs and bulbs were a couple of weeks behind. Now we have 

forsythia, daffodils, tulips, cherries, pears, lilacs and some dogwoods 

all blooming at the same time. It doesn’t always happen that way.

Although the warm weather this week will put us in the planting mood, 

keep in mind the frost date for our area is May 15th. Hold off planting 

the tender plants such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and most of the 

annual flowers. Pansies, sweet alyssum, marigolds and geraniums can be 

planted now after they have been hardened off. They can tolerate some 

cold temperatures as well as mild frosts.

Seeds of cucumbers, squash and melons can be started indoors now. They 

will be ready to plant outside in three weeks. Sunflowers, zinnias and 

cosmos will also grow quickly if started indoors now. If the tomato and 

pepper seedlings you started earlier are getting too big to keep 

indoors, put them outside during the day to start hardening them off. 

Once acclimated to the outside temperatures they can be planted if 

necessary, but will need a hot cap on cold days. Be ready to cover them 

if the temperature nears freezing. The night temperature needs to be 60 

degrees before they will set buds.

Potted Easter flowers can be planted in the garden after their blooms 

fade. As with all the spring flowering bulbs, remove the spent blossoms 

before they form seeds. Bulb foliage should be trimmed back after it 

has 

turned brown. The foliage feeds the bulb in preparation for the next 

growing cycle. Other plants in the garden will grow quickly and hide 

the 

fading bulb foliage.

In the perennial garden set up the peony hoops now while the plants are 

still short. Put plant supports in place for other tall perennials such 

as delphiniums and hollyhocks. As the plants grow they can be guided to 

the supports, tying them up as necessary.

The summer flowering bulbs can be planted now that the soil is warmer. 

Tuberous begonias, cannas, dahlias and gladiola are all examples of 

these tender bulbs that have spectacular summer blooms. Many of these 

bulbs can also be used in container plantings. The gladiolas can be 

planted at two-week intervals to provide a long season of cut flowers.

The roses are starting to leaf out this month. Fertilize them with a 

rose food after they have put on the new leaves. Keep an eye out for 

aphids on the new tender foliage. Aphids can be knocked off the plants 

with a spray of water from a hose. Insecticidal soap can also be used 

to 

kill them. An effective control gaining in popularity is the use of 

ladybugs. These beneficial insects are voracious aphid eaters. Once 

only 

available through mail-order catalogs, ladybugs can now be purchased at 

many garden centers.

Another landscape pest that usually makes an appearance early in the 

month is sawfly larvae. These small caterpillars feed on short needle 

pines (scotch pine, mugho pine). Usually one application of carbaryl 

when the larvae are small will take care of them for the season. For an 

organic control use Bt caterpillar killer.

Weeds in the lawn will begin growing this month. Cut the lawn no 

shorter 

than three inches to block out the weeds. Weeds need sunlight to 

germinate. A longer leaf blade will shade the weed seeds and feed the 

grass plant. Dandelions are often the first weeds to grow and flower. 

Treat these before they flower with a broadleaf weed killer. The 

ready-to-use liquid can be sprayed on individual plants with good 

results. Granular weed killer can be applied over the entire lawn if 

the 

weed population is high. To be effective the weeds need to be in active 

growth. The granular weed killers need to be spread on a damp lawn with 

no rain for several days after application.

New foliage on many of our garden plants is a tasty treat for deer and 

rabbits. Remember to spray repellants early in the season and often- 

spraying new growth at least once a month. There are several 

perennials, 

annuals, trees and shrubs recommended for growing in deer areas. 

Ageratum, marigold, salvia, dianthus and vinca are just a few of the 

suggested annuals. For more suggestions ask for a list at your favorite 

garden center.

Beth Nardone, botanist, is a resident of Hillsborough and is the 

Nursery 

Manager at the Belle Mead Co-Op. Questions and comments can be sent to 

bethtanical@rcn.com