MAY GARDEN CALENDER

For the first week of May:

v Prune your spring flowering shrubs (lilacs, forsythias, spireas, etc.) after they have finished blooming. Actually, you want to thin these out by removing up to one-third of the older branches at or near ground level.

v Plant vegetables such as snap beans, tomato plants, sweet corn, summer squash, cucumbers and a second crop of radishes.

v Check your trees, especially wild cherry, for tent caterpillars. Remove and destroy tents—they look like a white cotton candy mass on branches.

For the second week of May:

v Continue your fruit tree spray schedule to control disease and pest problems.

v Keep newly planted trees and shrubs watered (unless it’s a rainy month). Do not let the soil dry out.

v Plant gladiolus, dahlias and other summer bulbs.

For the third week of May:

v Stay out of your garden when plant foliage is wet. Walking through a wet garden spreads disease from one plant to another.

v Spray roses regularly (every 10 days, using a fungicide and insecticide). Read and follow all label directions.

v Closely examine your ornamental plantings for disease and pests. Check your dogwoods for borers; boxwood, holly and birch for leaf miners; evergreens for spider mites and aphids.

For the fourth week to end of May:

v Mulch flowers, established vegetables and ever green shrubs. Grass clippings are great and easier to handle if allowed to dry first. Remember, never use clippings from a lawn that has been treated with an herbicide.

v Allow leaves on tulips and daffodils to mature; do not cut off until brown. Fill in spaces in your flower beds with annuals.

v Pinch annuals when 4-6 inches high to promote bushy growth, such as zinnias, petunias and salvia.