TIME TO PLANT
May is the planting month. After the danger of frost has passed in your area, just about everything can go into the ground.
Annuals, vegetables, perennials, trees and shrubs can all be planted now.
Thoroughly water any newly planted plants or seeds, and try to mulch them as soon as possible to help retain soil moisture.
TO PINCH OR NOT
Some people pinch off the side buds from their peonies at this time. By doing so all the plants energies can go into the terminal bud,
thereby producing a larger flower.
Whether you choose to pinch is your choice, either way the flowers will be beautiful. If buds develop partially and then drop off or the
flowers become brown and mushy, your plants probably have Botrytis blight. To control spray weekly with a fungicide.
If your peonies are bloomless, some causes include: too deeply planted, overgrown clumps, or a lack of sunshine. If any of these are the problem,
you should wait until fall to dig and replant them.
DOGWOOD PROBLEMS
Dogwoods are an old-time favorite spring bloomer. However if your new tree fails to bloom, it can be very frustrating for the home gardener. Some reasons include:
-- some varieties must be 5-6 years old before they flower
-- planted too close to other trees, not enough sunlight
-- too much fertilizer encourages leaf growth, but not blooms
-- borers may have weakened the tree
PRUNING
If you haven't done so already, prune your corylopsis, forsythia, pussy willow, quince and witch hazel.
Now is also a good time to tidy up and remove suckers from fruit trees, lilacs, magnolias and maples
INSECT PESTS
Holly leaf miners can appear any time now. The larvae winter over in the leaves and the adults emerge just as the new
leaves start growing. They feed on and punch tiny holes in the leaves to lay their eggs. Spray with Lindane, Sevin or Malathion to control.
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Mealy bugs are soft-bodied scales that feed by puncturing the plant tissue of your house plants. Some of their favorites include ivy,
begonias, coleus, geraniums and crotons. Infested plants should be syringed with water, or wiped with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
MAY WILDFLOWERS
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American Hellebore
Arethusa
Baneberry
Barberry
Hairy Beard-tongue
Bellflower
Blackberry
Blue Iris
Bunchberry
Bulbous Buttercups
Chickweed
Clover
Common Daisy
Common Hawthorn
Common Speedwell
False Solomon's Seal
Fleabane
Forget-me-not
Indian Paint-brush
May Apple
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Milkwort
Mustard
New Jersey Tea
Nightshade
Nodding Trillium
Painted Trillium
Pink Moccasis Flower
Pitcher-plant
Rattlesnake-weed
Swamp Rose
Spring Beauty
Skullcap
Self-heal
Toadflax
Wild Lupine
Wild Sarsaparilla
Wood-sorrel
Wood Anemone
Yellow Clintonia
Yellow Lady's Slipper
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