Planting:

• May is a great month for planting new trees & shrubs. Use Gardner & Bloome Worm-Gro when planting.
  
  
• Plant irises, canned roses, tropicals and tuberoses.
  
  
• Plant a giant pumpkin for Halloween.
  
  
• Transplant potted bulbs into the ground.
  
  
• Plant zinnias and other heat loving flowers.
  
  
• Plant morning glories.
  
  
• Plant warm-season lawns.
  
  
• Replace cool-season bedding flowers with summer-season flowers. Use Ames hand tools for easy gardening.
  
  
• Continue to plant warm-season annual flowers and vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, petunias, and the like) there is still time for them to beat the summer heat. If you haven't already, plant seeds or seedlings for corn, green beans, melons, squash, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes and other heat-lovers. We carry a large selection of Quality STOVER® seeds and Do Rights Vegetable, Herb and Flower Starts
  
  
• Purchase, plant, and transplant succulents.
  
  
• Pinch back petunias when you plant them.

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Maintenance Duties:

• Fertilize both cool season (fescue) and warm season (bermuda & St. Augustine) lawns using Best Turf Supreme 16-6-8 or Best Super Turf 25-5-5 (lasts for up to 12 weeks!). Lawns should be fertilized every 4-6 weeks.
  
• Citrus needs micronutrients for good fruit development. Apply Grow More Citrus Growers Mix.
  
  
• Feed citrus trees, avocado trees. Use a good all around fertilizers such as Best Triple Pro 15-15-15. A good organic choice is Dr. Earth Citrus and Avocado Food.
  
  
• Feed fuchsias, azaleas, tuberous begonias, water lilies. Feed roses, ferns, flower beds, camellias after they bloom. Use Magnum Rose Food 8-10-8 or Lilly Miller Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron Food.
  
  
• Side-dress vegetable rows with a good organic fertilizer such as Dr. Earth Tomato and Herb Fertilizer. Fertilize peppers when flowers first show.
  
• Feed all container-grown succulents with a well-diluted complete liquid fertilizer such as a 20-10-20.

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Pruning, Maintenance and Clean-Up:

• Watch for pocket gophers making a mess in your yard! Use Wilco Gopher Bait and a Gopher Probe to insert the bait right where you need it. Use Grangetto’s tall or dwarf fescue seed to repair gopher damaged lawns.
  
  
• If Squirrels become a problem, trap them with a Squirrelinator live Squirrel Trap. It can catch dozens of squirrels in a matter of hours.
  
  
• Warmer weather brings out animals such as skunks, raccoons and opossums.  Trap them and move to another location with Havahart Traps.  We carry a large supply.
  
  
• Stop pinching fuchsias if you did not do so last month. Remove berries (seed pods) from fuchsias after flowers fall.
  
  
• Thin out fruit on deciduous fruit trees.
  
  
• Pinch dahlias back when the plant has three sets of leaves; tie the plant up as it grows.
  
  
• Continue to pick and deadhead roses. Deadheading fading flower blossoms will keep your garden neater and flowering better, longer.
  
  
• Divide and repot cymbidiums that have outgrown their containers.
  
  
• Cut off bloom spikes from cymbidiums after flowers fade.
  
  
• Prune camellias if you have not already done so.
  
  
• Clean and prune azaleas.
  
  
• Divide and mount staghorn ferns.
  
  
• Keep an eye out for yellow or pale leaves with green ribs -- a sign of iron chlorosis. Apply chelated iron according to package directions.

• Prune winter- and spring-flowering vines, shrubs, trees and ground covers after they finish blooming. Corona & Felco are some of our most popular pruning tools!
  
  
• Continue to tie up and sucker tomatoes. Sturdy Cage Tomato cages are available.
  
  
• As the weather becomes drier, keep up with watering. Even highly drought-tolerant plants need irrigation. Water large cacti, for example, once a month and agave and yuccas every three weeks. Be sure to water most garden plants regularly. Try using a Rain Wand for easy watering. Pair it with a Gilmour Flexogen Hose for maximum kink resistance.
  
  
• Do not water succulents.
  
  
• Taper off watering those California native plants that don't accept summer water.
  
  
• Control rose pests and diseases. We recommend Bayer 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control.
  
  
• Spray junipers and Italian cypress for juniper moths.
  
  
• Control mildew. We recommend Monterey Fungicides such as Monterey E-Rase
  
  
• Control pests on vegetables. Use Green Light Lawn & Garden Spray with Spinosad or Dr. Earth Fruit Tree & Vegetable Spray.
  
  
• Control weeds among permanent plants by mulching or cultivating.
  
  
• Control weeds among vegetables and flowers by hand-pulling.
  
  
• Harvest vegetables when they’re young and tender.
  
  
• Don’t forget Mother’s Day this month - May 9h.  Surprise her with a plant, gloves, a special new hand tool or let her choose with a Grangetto’s Gift Card!
  
  
• If you haven't already, apply a layer of mulch on flower beds and around trees and shrubs 2-3 inches around the base of plants. It reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and prevents disease. Great stuff!