You visited the plant sales and local nurseries for your special plants and annuals and hopefully have them in the ground. You mulched your beds and have begun to mow the lawn regularly. In short the gardening season is underway with most of the heavy work completed. Now that weekly maintenance is all that remains, you have time to learn more about gardening and landscaping. You can best do this by taking advantage of local resources and learning from other gardeners facing the same challenges as you.
There are two upcoming garden tours that you will not want to miss and are sure to be a source of inspiration and information. The Cooper Young Garden Walk features traditional as well as quirky, eclectic gardens. The theme of this year’s walk is “Edibles, Herbs, Native Plants and Flowers.” The two-day event features 80+ gardens and will be May 18-19. For ticket prices and other information, visit their website at cooperyounggardenclub.org.
The 10th annual “Through Our Garden Gates” garden tour is hosted by the Memphis Area Master Gardeners. It will be 9 a.m.-4 p.m. June 1. This free event is open to the public, featuring seven gardens tended by Master Gardeners. The tour this year is concentrated in the East Memphis area and includes a variety of garden styles and sizes, including zero-lot-line patio gardens, an urban farm and large spacious lots. Each garden will have volunteers on hand to share plant information. Plant lists at each garden include both the common name and the botanical name so you will be able to purchase the exact same plant for your garden when you visit a garden center should you see a plant that you covet, growing in conditions similar to those of your garden. Get addresses and directions at memphisareamastergardeners.org.
The internet can be a good source of information when it comes from a trusted source. A new site focused on our region is midsouthgardening.com. It has frequent postings from Jim Crowder, a local gardening guru.
Tennessee Extension is also a great resource. In addition to their main site they have a site geared toward the home gardener at uthort.com as well as a hotline at (901) 752-1207 manned by Master Gardeners to answer your gardening questions 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays.
To find out about local gardening events, visit the Master Gardener website, Cooper Young website or Memphis Horticultural Society website at memphishorticulture.org/events and check out their calendar of events.
Gardening activities for May
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A low-slung flowerbed overflowing with blossoms can be a bright divider between the lawn and the patio area. Photo by Stephen Cornelius via https://flic.kr/p/2eV32a. Plant: Annuals and perennials early in the month. It’s time for warm season vegetables (seeds and transplants), caladiums and zinnia seeds. Continue planting gladiolas every two weeks for a succession of blooms. Choose and plant crepe myrtles in bloom so you can obtain the desired color. Caladiums and vinca need warm soil. Caladium tubers will rot in cool soil, and vinca will be disease-prone or exhibit stunted growth. Night temperatures should regularly be above 60 degrees F. before planting.
- Lawn care: Seed Bermuda. Fertilize Bermuda and Zoysia lawns with complete fertilizer. Mow lawns approximately 2 inches. Do not remove more than one-third of the leaf blade at each mowing. Consider using a mulching blade on the mower.
- Prune: Climbing roses at end of the month. This is the last month to prune azaleas and camellias as new buds are formed in June. Prune spring-flowering shrubs (azaleas, flowering quince, forsythia and Loropetalum) soon after they finish flowering, but only if they need it. To keep them from looking like a meatball, follow the taller branches down into the shrub and cut just above a joint. Early May is a good time to cut back any woody perennials that need it, such as rosemary, rue, lavender, Santolina and Artemisia.
- Other: To prevent leaf roller on cannas drench the surrounding soil with a systemic insecticide like imidacloprid. Remove seed pods from bulbs and irises. Water deeply during weeks with less than 1 inch of rain. Stake tall plants.
TOM RIEMAN of Bartlett is a Shelby County Extension Master Gardener and secretary of the Bartlett City Beautiful Commission. Keep Bartlett Beautiful is among the activities of this commission. Contact him at thrieman@aol.com.
