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.... and I KNOW you have all taken care of all your necessary weeding, pruning, cleaning your landscape beds, putting down pre-emergent for future weeds, applying fertilizers and have finished mulching. So now what do I do you ask?
Well, first thing to do in May then would be to do all of the above that you still really, actually haven't done!
Also, as you have probably noticed, some of your plants look a wee bit dead. Hopefully they are not. Just as last year with our horribly cold winter many plants such as butterfly bushes, crape myrtle, roses and others have not yet put out any new spring leaves. My suggestion again would be to just wait a couple more weeks and check close to the ground to see if there actually is any new growth. If you scratch the bark with your fingernail and it is still green then be patient as it may recover. If you don't have any fingernails left because you have chewed them all off worrying about your dead looking plants then a small knife will give you the same result. If the stems are brown, invite 10 friends over and have a going away party for the plant or plants. Or go solo!
Also, there has been quite a bit of deer browse and rodent damage to many shrubs including those that are normally safe from attack such as yews. This was due to the amount of snow we had this past winter and the length of time it remained. There was very little for the deer to eat above the snow so.....hmmmm...yukky yummy!!!
This is also the month to take care of Bagworms. You will need to spray any evergreen trees etc. in late May and then again in early June as this is the ONLY time you can easily kill them. If you would like to read a previous article about them and other critters mistakenly called by the same name then click here
Aphids are again menacing many plants including spirea, viburnum, birch trees and burning bushes. Look for leaves that are curling under and red spots on the spirea. If you want to know more about Aphids and how to control them then click here.
And finally, Don't forget to put down your post emergent weed control and fertilizer towards the middle of the month to keep your grass nice and perty. And remember we have all the stuff you need to DIY!!!!!
Now......On with the Show!!!!!
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