Gardening Checklist for April and May

It’s been a nice spring. It started a little cool, but nice. Just when you think warm weather is here, it cools off again. This has made some of the pecan trees reluctant to leaf out, but by the time you get this newsletter the catkins and leaves should be showing up. 

If you planted potatoes they should be up and growing vigorously and your tomatoes should be near the bloom stage. It’s not too late (but getting close) to plant beans, squash and cucumbers, or even Swiss chard if you want a good green. You can also plant just about anything that you have been putting off for warmer weather. This includes okra, Lima beans, blackeyed peas, sweet potatoes, and Malabar spinach. Hopefully, your garden is looking great, but resist the temptation to mulch it. Wait until the soil has had a chance to really warm up (usually late April or early May) then put a layer of mulch about 3 or 4 inches thick on exposed soil. Just about anything works, but I usually use all the live oak leaves that I just raked out of my yard. 

Caladium tubers can be planted outside after the soil warms up, usually about mid to late April. Better a little late than too early, because the tubers will rot if the soil is too wet and cold. 

Prune spring flowering shrubs shortly after they are through blooming to encourage a thicker more compact plant. In May you can complete pruning of climbing roses to insure a good supply of new wood for next year’s flower formation. 

You should also prepare your flowerbeds for the summer annuals. There is a wide selection available at your favorite garden center including periwinkle, petunia, zinnia, marigold, salvia, coleus, ageratum, geranium, and one of my favorites, portulaca. 

You have probably already mowed your grass. You should lower your mower a notch or two from where it was late last summer, then gradually raise the mowing height about one notch per month through early June. This is especially important for St. Augustine grass, but also is valid for Bermuda. This allows the grass to give extra shade to the soil during our hot summertime. Wait until after you have cut your grass two or three times before you give it an application of fertilizer. If you fertilize too early, you give your weeds a running start. I usually fertilize in late April or early May. Water it in thoroughly. I never use any “weed and feed” type fertilizers. Weed treatment should be done several weeks before fertilizing, so the two should not be done together. If you do use weed and feed, be very cautious. It is difficult to determine how far tree and shrub roots may extend into the lawn area and the weed killers are not particular about which broad-leafed plant they kill. 

-Norman Wagner