- Thin or compacted turf will benefit from core aeration and over-seeding. Keep new seed moist until germination.
- Remove spent blooms on tulips, daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs to focus its energy on growing new bulbs rather than producing seeds.
- Plant tomatoes, peppers and melons after the danger of frost is past and the soil temperature is 65° F – usually around the last week in May. Rotate plants each year to reduce insect and disease problems.
- Ground covers such as vinca, ajuga, pachysandra, creeping foamflowers, lamium, and ivy can be divided, transplanted and fertilized now.
- Start to monitor lilies for red lily leaf beetles. Check the underside of leaves for the clusters of tiny orange eggs and remove. Spray with Neem every 5-7 days to kill larvae and adults or handpick and destroy.
- Plant dahlias, gladioli, cannas and other summer flowering bulbs. Put hoops and stakes in place for floppy plants.
- Turn your compost pile to add oxygen and speed decomposition.
- Feed azaleas, rhododendrons, and other ericaceous ornamentals with fertilizers for acid-loving plants.
- Begin deadheading roses and apply fertilizer in mid-May, mid-June and mid-July.
- Fill hanging baskets and containers with trumpet-shaped blooms such as nasturtiums, nicotania, fuschias, and salvias to attract hummingbirds.
