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May is the busiest month in the garden with plenty to do and lots to enjoy!  Time to plant trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, perennials and fruit plants of all types.

Soil – Get your soil tested so you know exactly what amendments you need. Ask us for information on getting soil testing kits through the University of Delaware.

Bulbs – Spring bulbs look a bit frazzled but leave the foliage in place as the leaves will make the 

food the bulb needs to produce flowers for next year. It’s a great time to plant summer-flowering bulbs such as dahlias, gladiolus, canna, tuberous begonia, calla and caladium.

Shrubs – Once Spring flowering shrubs have flowered you can cut them back once the threat of frost has passed. If you wait more than three or four weeks after the shrubs flower, you’ll be removing flower buds for next year.

Perennials –  Time to plant perennials as the ground is warm and they will grow more quickly.  Perfect time to plant Native plants.  New to Natives?  Just ask us to get you started.  Keep mulching before the plants grow too big and stay on top of the weeds.

Lawn – Mow every week if possible to a height of 2.5-3 inches to maintain good vigor and health.  Choose aa dry day to weed and apply a “Weed and Feed” fertilizer/herbicide to eliminate broadleaf weeds.  Plant grass in the spots left after weeding.

Annuals – Direct sow hardy annuals such as nasturtiums, poppies, nigella and cosmos. 

Brighten porches, patios and pergolas with hanging flowering baskets filled with geranium, bidens, verbena, calibrachoa, petunia, annual phlox.  Keep them well watered and fertilized.

Tropicals – Plant a tropical paradise in your own backyard. Try hibiscus and mandevilla along with canna, bird of paradise, palm, and ti plant.

Herbs – Time to plant basil, dill, rosemary, marjoram, cilantro and fennel.  These require 6-8 hours of sunlight a day in well-drained soil.  They do well in containers right outside your kitchen door for use whenever you need them.  

Mulch! Mulch! Mulch! – The best way to keep your garden healthy is to mulch your garden with several inches of compost, pine needles, shredded bark, grass clippings, straw, or even newspaper. The mulch helps preserve soil moisture during the hot summer months and prevents weeds from taking over. As the mulch decays it adds to organic matter to your soil.

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Clean Your Garden and remove weeds, winter mulch and debris before digging and preparing the garden for planting. After clearing all the debris, nourish your soil with compost or well-rotted manure. If you don’t have compost or manure, apply a slow-release fertilizer.

Select and Plant Perennial Herbs such as Thyme, Lavender, Oregano, Chives, Mint and Sage. They require a sunny spot that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Grow a Salad Garden including Swiss Chard, Beets, Lettuce. Arugula, Carrots, Radishes.  If your short on space grow a salad garden in a pot or planter by your kitchen door

Improve Lawns by applying slow-release fertilizer this early spring. As the name suggests, ‘slow-release’ means the fertilizer is slowly released into the soil over a long period. After fertilizing, reseed all patches of dead or damaged grass in your lawn and water daily until the seed germinates.

Prune Spring Flowering Bulbs such as Daffodils, Hyacinths and Tulips. Clipping off their flower stalks encourages the plants to store energy in their bulbs instead of setting seed.  Leave the foliage alone until it fades naturally.

Add Birdhouses that are designed for songbirds such as Bluebirds, Wrens, Purple Martens and Chickadees.  Make sure the houses have the appropriate size entrance hole for the spices you want to attract. No need for perches: birds don’t use them, but predators do.

Organize and Clean your garden tools and supplies.  Get rid of flower pots, tools and gadgets you won’t be using.  Make a list of items you might need. 

Plant Your Container Garden. Think about nice container flower combinations and follow a technique like spiller-filler-thriller.

Prune Your Trees and Deciduous Shrubs and remove any dead and sickly looking leaves or branches. This stimulates new plant growth and spring flowering. Be sure to fertilize and also mulch your trees and shrubs. Planting and transplanting should be done by June.

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Red Maples are easy to grow, provide great shade, have beautiful flowers in the spring and gorgeous fall color.

Have you seen a tree with branches that look like they are tinged red or pink recently? It’s probably a Red Maple, Acer rubrum if you want the Latin name, one of our most common native trees. It is found in almost all of our forests here in coastal southern Delaware, in wet, swampy areas, and dryer ones. From this, it’s easy to see that it will grow nicely in your yard  – and it is blooming now! It is one of the earlier blooming plants. The tree can be taller, up to 70’, so the flowers are hard to see but they’re up there, and very pretty. Early pollinating insects, including bumblebees, love them.

The tree gets to 70’ tall, and 30’ wide, with a rounded shape. It’s easy to grow, tolerant of many soil types; it prefers full sun but will grow in part shade. It’s deciduous, meaning it loses its leaves in winter, but before they come off, it turns the most beautiful shades or red/orange, lighting up the fall landscape. It has no serious disease or insect problems. It will make a great specimen tree for your yard, providing shade and beauty for years to come.

Red Maple Flowers
Red Maple Leaf

GARDEN Q&A. Do you have questions about your garden? Ask them! We are here to help!

Q. Should I prune my Crepe Myrtle? How should I do it? And when?

A.  You don’t have to! It will bloom just fine if you leave the old flower stalks on there. The only pruning you should do is any branches that are obviously dead, are rubbing against each other, or are crossing over the middle. But if those old flower stalks look messy to you, by all means snip them off. You can “limb it up” too, meaning cut off the lowest branches to let some sun in under the tree so whatever you plant there will grow better. Now is a great time to prune since you can see the branching structure because the leaves haven’t come in yet.

But – don’t commit “Crepe Murder”! This is the absolutely awful practice of topping a tree – very bad for a tree’s health, and which will encourage more, and ugly growth. When you top a tree, or whack back at your crepe, it will grow back in unnaturally, spindly, and weak. You will probably have fewer flowers too. Crepes have a beautiful natural form – when you prune them correctly it should look like nothing was done, the tree is just prettier. If your tree is too large for its spot, then consider getting a smaller one – there are crepes that get up to 6’ max, or 12’ or 15, or 30’. There’s a size for everyone, with colors to match.

STOP! DON’T CHOP! DON’T COMMIT CREPE MURDER!