Seasonal jobs for the month: May
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1. Hand weed and hoe both the ornamental and kitchen gardens regularly to keep on top of weeds |
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2. Plant up summer hanging baskets and containers but protect from late frosts |
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3. Look out for lily beetle adults and larvae this month; early control measures help keep populations low |
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4. Placing straw under strawberry plants keeps fruit clean, helps avoid botrytis from contact with damp soil, and discourages slugs and snails |
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5. More-tender summer bedding such as Fuchsia and Nemesia should be thoroughly hardened off before planting out. A cold from, open during the day and closed at night, is ideal |
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6. Put supports in place for tall perennials such as delphiniums, lupins and monkshood before they make too much growth. |
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Kitchen garden
- Continue successional sowings of salad crops and herbs such as basil, coriander and parsley.
- Sow sweetcorn and French and runner beans direct into the soil in milder regions.
- Sow cauliflowers, sprouting broccoli and leeks for harvesting next winter.
- Transplant Brussels sprout seedlings to their cropping positions.
- Plant second early potatoes early in the month and maincrop potatoes towards the end of the month. Protect new shoots if frost is forecast
- owards the end of the month plant out tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins after all risk of frost has past.
Flower garden
- Plant out cannas and dahlias and other tender exotics after the danger of frost has past.
- Thin out direct-sown hardy annuals.
- Tie in sweet peas to their supports.
- Start liquid feeding container plants.
- Deadhead tulips and lift and divide crowded clumps of daffodils six weeks after flowering.
- Divide and plant bamboo
- Deadhead rhododendrons and azaleas.
Trees, shrubs, climbers and hedges
- Prune overgrown Clematis Montana after flowering.
- Coppice or pollard Eucalyptus fore attractive juvenile foliage
- Prune spring flowering shrubs such as Berberis and Chaenomeles after flowering.
- Clip evergreen hedges but check for nesting bids
- Deadhead rhododendrons and azaleas
- Divide and plant bamboo
- Remember to water newly planted trees and shrubs thoroughly in dry spells until they are established.
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Glasshouse, conservatory and houseplants
- Repot conservatory and houseplants every two years.
- Apply shade paint or use blinds on glasshouses and conservatories.
- Start ventilating greenhouses on warm days.
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Lawns
- Formal lawns will need a weekly cut and a high nitrogen summer lawn fertiliser applied.
- Hand weed or use a selective lawn herbicide if weeds are a problem.
- Recently sown lawns and wildflower meadows should be mown about six weeks after sowing.
Ponds and water features
- Clean pond filters.
- Plant new aquatic plants.
- Keep birdbaths cleaned and topped up.
Pest and disease watch
- Keep an eye out for early aphid and other pest attacks indoors and out and treat in a timely and appropriate fashion.
- Hang pheromone traps in apple trees to monitor codling moth numbers.
- Prune out or treat canker, bacterial canker and blossom wilt on fruit trees.
- To protect beneficial insects do not spray fruit trees when they are in blossom.
- Stay alert for gooseberry sawfly damage and American gooseberry mildew.
- Indoors regular inspect for signs of glasshouse red spider mite, whitefly and thrips.
- Pick off the larvae of lily beetle as soon as they are seen.
- Inspect Viburnum tinus and V. opulus leaves for signs of viburnum beetle grubs.
- Use felt discs around the base of transplanted brassicas to protect from root fly.
