Richard Green, of Green Landscape Nursery, has 17 years of experience gardening in the Santa Clarita Valley. He's seen it all: frost, flood, drought. And he'll share with you here what you need to do in your garden this month.
MAY SUCCESS TIPS
1. May is the month
when there is more in the nursery to plant than at any other time.
2. Feed roses
(and other flowers) regularly with Bayer Advanced Rose & Flower Care. This will also prevent damage from rose pests. Fertilize perennials and fast-growing annuals with EB Stone Organics All Purpose.
3. Adjust your sprinkler times
as it gets hotter to compensate for the loss of moisture.
4. Mulch
beds and around plants to discourage weeds, make the area look better, and hold in moisture. Use our Walk-on-Bark or EB Stone Planting Compost.
FRUIT TREE CARE
It's natural for your fruit trees to drop a lot of tiny fruit in late spring. This process eases the strain on tree limbs, reducing the risk of breakage. Additional thinning after the natural spring fruit drop will give you larger, more perfect fruit at harvest time. Also, thinning fruit trees increases the chance of getting a full crop of fruit the following year on varieties that alternate between heavy and light crops every other year. These include apricots, golden delicious apples, and others.
Watch for shoots that come from below or near ground level. On grafted fruit trees (and many roses) these are probably originating from the root stock portion of the plant. The sucker, if allowed to grow, will not bear useful fruit, and will sap the strength from the good part of the plant. Trace the sucker to its point or origin and wrench it off by hand, being careful not to tear off extra bark from the main plant. If you simply cut the sucker at ground level, it will react as if its been pruned and resprout.
GARDEN LESSONS FROM 2007
Unless you've kept a gardening journal, it may be difficult to recall past gardening experiences and future desires from year-to-year. Here are some thoughts to help jog your memory.
- Grow some new and unusual varieties of vegetables you've tasted in restaurants or seen growing in a neighbor's garden. Frequent deliveries from growers bring Green Landscape Nursery exciting budded and blooming flowers--many with long, exotic unfamiliar names--experiment!
- Plan ahead by replacing spring crops with quick-sprouting summer ones. For instance, when peas finish producing, pull out the vines and replace them with sunflowers.
- Set aside an area to use as a specialty garden. For instance, you can have a space for growing specialty plants, such as flowrs for indoor arrangements and herbs for cooking, or create a prayer or meditation corner for quiet time.
- Assist nature by learning about and growing plants that attract bees, butterflies, and birds.
- Set up a more efficient way to water your plants, such as timers, soaker hoses, etc.
