Garden To-Do's

A comprehensive monthly guide with suggestions and ideas for timely plantings, maintenance and fun.

May & June

At The Coast
In The Midlands
In The Piedmont
On The Mountains Across the Carolinas

At The Coast

• Get equipment in order. Sharpen or replace blades on your mower. Change oil and clean or replace air filters. Check and replace belts if needed.
• Prune fruit trees. If you have not done so, it needs to be done very, very soon. Bring pruned material into the house and force blooms indoors. Some fruits such as peaches, plums, cherries may root after blooming. Natural hormones in willow will encourage rooting in water of many plants, so find a willow tree and place a cutting in with your fruit tree limbs.
• Build a compost bin. Three wooden pallets nailed together in a "U" shape and stood on edge make a simple and cheap compost structure. Having one open side allows easy access to the material allowing you to add to, turn or remove material when needed.
• Plant or move trees and shrubs. While it is best in the east to move trees and shrubs in the fall, many actually don't get moved to a new location until the spring. If you are planting "new" bare root or balled and burlap plants or moving plants in the yard, expect to water these plants once a week through the summer.
• When planting new trees and shrubs, remember - location, location, location! First pick plants that are hardy in your USDA plant hardiness zone. Second, look at the moisture conditions where the plant will be placed. Is the location too sandy and dry or two heavy and wet for the plant? Third, consider how much sun or shade the plant will get throughout the day. Match up these requirements to your location.

Contributed by Byron L. Simonds, agricultural extension agent, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Hertford County Center, N.C.

In The Midlands

• Plant dahlias, gladiolus, cannas and other summer-flowering bulbs once the soil temperature has warmed. These are all hardy in South Carolina and can be left in the ground year after year.
• Dethatch your lawn with a vertical mower if the thatch layer measures more than half an inch.
• Plant heat-loving vegetables such as okra, watermelon, sweet potatoes, butterbeans and southern peas.
• Fertilize roses after each flush of bloom with a rose fertilizer or slow release tree and shrub fertilizer.
• Monitor your lawn for lawn crickets. Control is more successful while they are in the nymph stage.
• Sow pumpkin seeds in the Upstate and Midlands regions for fall harvest.
• Watch for powdery mildew in crape myrtles and roses and apply an appropriate fungicide when necessary.

Adapted from the lawn and garden calendar from Clemson University's Home and Garden Information Center (http://hgic.clemson.edu) by Russell Duncan, lead agent, Clarendon and Williamsburg Counties, S.C.

In The Piedmont

• Introduce a child to gardening.
• Harvest of early season vegetables continues. Side shoots may develop on some broccoli cultivars after the head is harvested. Give them a chance. They start becoming bitter in hot weather, although cooking reduces the bitterness.
• Plant warm-season crops such as okra, sweet potatoes and watermelons. You can plant a second crop of sweet corn until June 20. After that insect pressure will be too heavy. Delay planting of southern peas until after June 20 to avoid cowpea curculio. June 20 is also a good target date for fall tomatoes.
• Remove water sprouts on vigorous fruit trees. Removing a few peach limbs that are shading the crop will improve fruit quality. Also removing some muscadine foliage on over-vigorous vines will help calm the plant.
• Prune non-blooming evergreens in May or June. Also prune spring-flowering plants between the time they bloom and the end of June. Light pruning, defined as less than 10 percent of the canopy, can be done at any time.
• Japanese beetles will show up by the end of June. You can ignore some damage or treat with a pesticide. Japanese beetle traps haven't been proven effective at reducing plant damage.
• Established trees and shrubs can typically tolerate a few dry weeks, but newly planted ornamentals should be watered weekly.
• Don't forget the sunscreen! Be sure to use enough to protect yourself.

Contributed by David Goforth, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Cabarrus County, N.C.

In The Mountains

• Plant summer-flowering bulbs once the soil temperature has warmed.
• Fertilize roses after each flush of bloom with a rose fertilizer or slow-release tree and shrub fertilizer.
• Deadhead roses to encourage re-bloom.
• Plant warm-season vegetables now.
• Scout for developing pest populations and proceed accordingly to avoid extensive damage. Consult your county extension office for proper pest identification and management options.
• Shear moss phlox, dianthus and candytuft after they bloom to encourage tidy, healthy new growth.
• Allow beneficial insects such as lady beetles to control aphids on vegetables and flowers.
• Plant a second crop of warm-season vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, peppers and squash about two weeks after the first planting to extend harvest.
• Sidedress warm-season vegetables with an additional application of nitrogen fertilizer, if recommended by a soil test, shortly after they begin to bloom and set fruit. Avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen as this encourages excess vine growth and may reduce fruit set.

Partially adapted from the Lawn and Garden Calendar of Clemson University's Home and Garden Information Center (http://hgic.clemson.edu) by Cory Tanner, Consumer Horticulture Extension Agent, Greenville and Spartanburg Counties, S.C.

Across the Carolinas

• Fertilize most grasses now. Apply one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet on Bermuda after it greens up. Fertilize centipede grass with half a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in June. Don't fertilize fescue, it is a cool season grass.
• For mowing, mow centipede to a height of one inch. Fescue should be mowed to a height of two and a half to three and a half inches. Bermuda can be kept at a height as low as three quarters of an inch up to one and a half inches depending on the variety.
• Prune azaleas as soon as possible after flowers have faded, since they bloom on last year's growth. Be sure to finish pruning before the end of May.
• The leaves of most spring bulbs may be removed once they have collapsed and turned brown.
• Trees and shrubs planted in the last 1 to 2 years may need supplemental irrigation during summer heat. Even established plants may need watering during long dry spells.
• Vegetable gardens need at least one inch of water per week to guarantee good yields. Lawns also need one inch of water per week for proper growth. Do not water every day. Two to three times a week is adequate, depending on your soil type.