Plant
Container-grown trees, shrubs, ground covers, annuals.
Cannas and gladiolus. Transplant evergreens, perennials.
Start annuals in flats to cover late-summer bare spots in flower beds.
Prune
Deciduous and evergreen hedges, spring-flowering trees and shrubs, wisteria after bloom. Do not prune summer or fall bloomers now or flower buds will be lost.
Remove dead, diseased wood and water sprouts from dogwoods.
Fertilize
Roses with 5-10-5 (monthly)
Annuals, container plants, house plants with water soluble fertilizer (monthly).
Watch for:
Aphids, black spot, black vine weevil, chinch bug, fungus, Japanese beetles, leaf miner, mildew, whitefly.
Lawn care
Maintain established lawns at correct height. When mowing near trees, avoid nicking the bark, which encourages borer infestation.
Bulb care
Finish digging and dividing crowded late spring-blooming bulbs as they finish blooming. Continue to deadhead spent bulbs. Remove matured foliage with a gently tug when it separates from the bulb.
Chores
Note blooming combinations and gaps in perennial borders, plants that need dividing in the fall.
Keep planting beds well groomed. Cultivate lightly and edge beds to keep lawn grass from invading plants.
Weed – it’s easier when soil is damp.
Dig and divide spring perennials after flowering.
Deadhead lilacs, rhododendrons and perennials
Pinch back Chrysanthemums and asters to thicken plants and delay bloom.
Train plants growing on trellises; stake and tie floppy plants.
Add to and turn compost pile.
Water everything as needed; use soaker hoses to conserve water and keep drops off foliage. Do not water in the heat of day.
Propagation
Take softwood cuttings to increase plant stock.
Vegetable Garden
Plant: Sow warm-season vegetables and herbs. Start in flats Brussels sprouts and cabbage family for fall crops. Transplant warm-season vegetable and herb seedlings to garden.
Fertilize: vegetables with foliar spray or granular 5-10-5 worked carefully into soil along rows or around each plant.
Watch for: insects see April and May), beetles, stalk borers, white-fly.
Chores: pinch back annual herbs; thin basil; pull and compost spent crops; place netting over ripening berries to protect from birds; be prepared to protect basil, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes if threatened by late frost; check vegetables growing on trellises and poles; prune tomato plants; keep vegetables and berry bushes well watered; mulch to control weeds and moisture loss.