Ok, go ahead and plant!  Flowers, vegetables, herbs!  Because it's May, you may do it all.  Your May to-do list is very long, but the weather is so perfect, chores are not a problem.

 

Fun Stuff

Put up hummingbird feeders. If you have ever watched these birds, you know they are very aggressive and territorial, therefore feeders in the front and back yards are suggested.  Commercial nectar is good but you can also make your own (1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water, add a few drops of red food coloring if desired).  Keep your feeders full and watch them flutter in day after day.

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Grass

Crabgrass has begun to sprout. Use Fertilome® Weed Out with Crabgrass Killer to control it and note your calendar to put out crabgrass preventer in September and March. Bermuda and Centipede Seed can now be planted.  Why plant sod when you can have a beautiful lawn for 10% of the cost? Bring your measurements and we'll help you with what you need. Established Bermuda needs preventative fungicide. Fescue lawns should be fertilized for the last time until fall. Raise your mower blade to its highest setting (helps to shade those roots from the July sun). Feed established Centipede lawns with an 18-0-18 fertilizer.  Be careful killing weeds in Centipede lawns - use only products that contain Atrazine. Its prime time for Bermuda.  Bermuda loves hot weather so fertilize every 6 weeks until late August, and mow at 1 1/2 inches high. See lawn schedule here.

 

Water

Too much water is harder on plants and too little.  Excess water promotes disease and rots roots; therefore a good rule of thumb is 1" per week for lawns, trees, and shrubs.  Flower beds may need more but if well mulched, water needs are reduced dramatically.

 

Mulch

What is mulch?  Mulch is anything that covers the ground to hold in water and prevents weeds from germinating.  Mulch can be pine straw, bark chips, cypress mulch, gravel, marble chips, wheat straw, newspaper, etc.  The beauty of mulch is most can be turned into the soil next spring to add organic matter that improves the planting area.

 

Hunters

All hunters know that a successful hunt does not start on opening day of the season.  The hunters with the best “luck" start now preparing food plots and setting up salt licks to make those animals feel welcome.  Athens Seed spring deer mix is ready to plant now to increase your luck come fall.

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Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles were imported into New Jersey from Japan on the roots of nursery stock about 1916.  Since then they have spread over much of the USA.  A Japanese beetle spends about ten months underground as a white grub worm.  Adults emerge in late May and are most evident for four to six weeks.  Although they disappear, they are still a force to be dealt with.  Don't believe that what you can't see can't hurt because beetles begin causing damage early March and don't quit until late October.  During winter the beetle is a grub about 4-8 inches deep in your yard, then comes up in March to feed on the roots of your grass and plants before emerging as an adult Japanese Beetle.  After laying it's eggs the beetles die, but the cycle goes on again. Japanese beetles can be better controlled during the grub stage than while they are flying all over the place.  Apply grub control during June and July to reduce the beetles next year.  Give your neighbors beetle traps for Christmas.

 

Portable Color

Old rusted wheel barrows, buckets, and giant pots make interesting vessels for color in various spots beside your walk ways and on porches.  Lantana, geraniums, scaevola, vinca, and begonias are all sun lovers that need very little water and attention. See our vast selection of hanging baskets and ready-made color bowls.

 

Pruning

Remove low hanging and dead tree limbs.  If a branch hasn't leafed out by now, it probably won’t so go ahead and chop it off.  If you want to tree form crepe myrtles, prune sprouts from the base and any small branches on the trunk of the plant. As annual blooms die out and foliage becomes leggy, cut them back and fertilize for new fresh growth.

 

Roses

Keep a watch out for blackspot, aphids, and japanese beetles.  Dead head old blooms to keep them blooming.  Plant some Knockout® and Drift® Rose bushes.  The blooms are not as pretty as hybrid teas but they sure require less maintenance and can be planted en masse.