Planting:

• Continue to tuck in or fill out your garden beds with all the wonderful annual and perennial color. Celosia, dahlia, marigold, petunia, portulaca, salvia, scabiosa, verbena, zinnia, rudbeckia, gloriosa daisy, heliotrope, coreopsis, delphinium, digitalis--the list goes on and on! Can you name a few more?

• Subtropicals abound. Now is an excellent time to plant hibiscus, gardenia, tibouchina (princess flower), and/or bougainvillea, shrub or vine.

• Vegetables--have you been growing yours from seeds? Now is a good time to plant these little plants: cucumbers, eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. You can begin these vegetables from seeds now: summer and winter squashes, pumpkins (for parents with kids that love Halloween pumpkin carving and decorating), and corn (remember to plant at least a couple of rows of corn).

Fertilizing:

• Now is a good time to fertilize your flowers, roses, vegetables, trees and shrubs. Use Gro Power Plus 5-3-1. Gro Power builds healthy soil by adding beneficial humic acids to the soil. We also recommend using Dr. Earth products.

• Fertilize warm season lawns with Dr. Earth Super Natural Lawn Food. It’s 100% Organic and is on sale this month!

• For those growing native plants or other drought tolerant types, now is NOT the time to fertilize or to plant new natives. Your natives are preparing to go dormant for the summer.

• Feed avocado and citrus trees. Use a good all around fertilizer such as Yara Triple 15 or contact us to learn of other conventional and organic fertilizers that will your growing needs best!

• When planting new trees & shrubs use Sunshine Pro Planting Mix mixed with Bob & John’s Soil Optimizer. For established plants; apply at least 4 inches of mulch to hold in moisture & help prevent weeds.

• Many have asked us what is causing yellowing in the leaves of their citrus, camellias, and gardenias. Iron deficiency. Do the leaves near the top of the plant have green veins but yellow in between the veins? Time for either a foliar spray or a soil drench such as Grow More Iron Chelate or Ironite. This will help return those leaves to green!

• Rose lovers, you may be starting to experience powdery mildew, rust, and of course, the "beloved" rose slug. And oh, did I mention aphids? There is a multitude of products: earth-friendly types and others that are synthetic chemicals. Please contact us for suggestions on the best pest-fighting product for your rose garden.

• Deep water entire garden to flush accumulated salts to prepare for summer heat. Re-adjust sprinkler settings, repair and add lines to use water more efficiently.  This month is a good time to replace old hoses with Gilmour Hoses & Accessories, they come with a lifetime replacement policy and are 15% off this month!

• Clean up fallen fruit, vegetables and flowers regularly as they can harbor pests such as worms, borers and other destructive larvae. We have Yard Butler Steel Hand Tools on sale this month as well as Ames Classic Bow Rakes.

• Mow cool season lawns long and warm season lawns short.

• Continue to propagate and clean-up daylilies.

• Pick and deadhead roses, but stop disbudding them now.

• Remove seed pods from fuchsias.

• Prune impatiens and petunias.

• Clean and prune azaleas.

• Pinch the flowers off of coleus.

• Control weeds with Monterey Remuda in isolated areas away from any plants you wish to remain alive. Use hand tools to assist with pulling weeds in and around your plants.

• Insects and pests to watch for:
  
  
• Ants - Amdro Ant Block granules kills over 14 species of ants and destroys the entire colony!
  
  
• Gophers - Use Cooke Quick Action Gopher Mix or Wilco Gopher Getter
  
• Squirrels-Use Wilco Squirrel Bait & Bait Stations
  
  
• Insects, above & below ground - such as rose midges, grubs, whitefly, aphids & ants, use Bayer Complete Insect Killer Granules
  
  
• Tobacco budworm, caterpillars, loopers - Spray with Safer Caterpillar Killer (BT) (bacillus thuringensis) or with Green Light Spinosad.

• Use Ortho EcoSense Indoor Insect Killer safely and effectively kills insects inside your home. It’s main ingredient is 100% natural soybean oil.

• Step up your watering as we enter into these warmer months. Weed and then Mulch, Mulch, Mulch*
  
  *We will always tell you to mulch. This does not mean mound up the mulch to 5 feet. It means continue to replenish the mulch and maintain a 2-4 inch blanket over your soil. So when you hear us singing the MULCH song, you know just what we mean!