Seasonal Care of the Garden
Shrubs
Prune spring-blooming shrubs - azaleas, rhododendron, pieris, and lilacs - immediately after they finish flowering to maintain desirable size and shape.
Otherwise dead-head spent flowers as they wither. (This might be as late as June or July for rhododendrons and azaleas.
Perennials
Finish transplanting perennials early in month.
Pinch back all leggy perennials.
Continue staking tall-growing perennials.
Mulch perennials.
Annuals
Plant tender annuals such as geraniums, impatiens, and coleus after last frost.
Use a dilute, half-strength liquid fertilizer when planting tender annuals
Liquid fertilizers are absorbed through leaves as well as roots, and this
gentle stimulation (remember, half strength) helps overcome transplant shock.
If possible, transplant on an overcast, cloudy damp day, never
in hot, brilliant sunshine. Later in the day is better than midday,
as it allows plants an overnight recovery before exposure to sunshine.
For bushier, more floriferous plants, pinch back leggy annuals such as
impatiens, coleus, geraniums and others, to encourage branching.
Bulbs
After flowering, do not fold, braid, spindle, staple, or otherwise crumple bulb foliage.
Leaves of daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops and others should not be removed
until they begin to turn yellow and flop over to best nourish the bulbs.
Use a liquid fertilizer such as Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster with 10-30-20 analysis
(can be ordered on-line if not available locally) to fertilize spring-blooming bulbs
such as snowdrops, daffodils, and hyacinths.
Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as dahlias, gladiola, canna etc.
Vegetables
Thin vegetables sown outdoors last month.
Sow outdoors: beans, corn.
Plant tender vegetables such as tomatoes after last frost.
Mulch strawberries.
Lawns
Mow.
Miscellaneous
If necessary, fertilize any plants not yet fed.
On a nice damp drizzle-y overcast day, when tomorrow will be the same
is a good time to move houseplants outdoors for their summer vacation.
Overcast means they won't get sunburned while they adjust, and rain
will nicely wash the winter's accumulation of dust off their leaves.
Water when dry.
Plant window boxes.
KEEP WEEDING!