Houston May Garden Care

Happy May Day!

April showers bring May garden flowers!? But, what do unseasonably cool Aprils bring?

Extra time to do garden maintenance without worrying about heat stroke! Yay!? Hopefully, you used those cool days well because…

…Summer is Coming.

Good news, everyone, those May flowers are coming too!? If you have early bulbs, like daffodils, they have come and gone. Your Knockout Roses are blooming like crazy and everything else should be blooming or just about to. This month your yard is going to be beautiful and it may still be not-hot enough to enjoy it!

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May Garden Care Checklist:

• Just keep weeding, just keep weeding, what do we do? We weed, weed, weed!
• Check plants for snails and slugs – these are bad, m’kay?

Lawn care:

• Your mower blades should be set to three inches and mow as needed.
• Do not bag your clippings. They decompose quickly and are great nutrition for the soil.
• Apply a soluble nitrogen fertilizer, 1 lb. per 1,000 square feet of lawn or 1 1/2 lb. of slow release nitrogen.
  • Personally, we have found that using a service is not significantly more than buying all that fertilizer (since it is not cheap). It may be more affordable than you realize and worth a call. Ours comes about five times per year, handles fertilizing and weed control, and will come check out any issues we have in between – such as chinch bugs.)
• Water as needed but when you water allow the water to penetrate to six inches. Don’t water again until the lawn shows signs of distress such as when footprints stay in the grass (every 5-10 days). Determine the length of time by setting out clear containers in several locations and running your sprinklers until they reach six inches. If the water begins to run off then stop, wait thirty minutes, and then resume watering.

Is it Dead?

You probably have a pretty good idea by now if your frozen plants have made it through.  If it is brown, cut it down.

• Before pulling an entire plant grab the main branch near the base and give it a jiggle. If it doesn’t move the root system may be fine and it could come back. If it wiggles easily it is dead pull the whole plant.
• Palms are still in the “wait and see” zone
  • If it is short enough to see the crown you can probably tell if it is alive by now. New growth should be happening. If it is too tall to see the crown then wait a few more months for any signs of new growth.
  • Cutaway droopy fronds – don’t cut away anything that is green

Care of Common Houston-Area Plants:

• Basil
  • Pinch center shoot and pinch flower blooms, it can be cut back to 6-8 inches for another harvest.
• Brugmansia (a.k.a. “Angel’s Trumpet”)
  • Feed plants every two weeks during the growing season with a 17-17-17 fertilizer, alternated with a fertilizer for blooming plants (high middle number (phosphorus). These are very hungry plants!
• Bulbs
  • Fertilize when flower spikes start to show
  • Plant summer-blooming bulbs now – Dahlias, Gladiolus, Irises, Calla Lilies and other lilies.
    • Plant at two-week intervals until June for bloom in all of July through August.
• Chrysanthemums
  • Pinch shoots back each time they reach six inches
• Crepe Myrtles
  • Snip off suckers and the shoots that may grow up from the base as needed.
• Gardenias
  • Use a 30-10-10 fertilizer every 4 weeks of the growing season.
• Lavender
  • Prune back to half its current size after flowering.
• Mandarin Trees and other Citrus
  • Water if the soil dries out, water should penetrate an inch or so down
  • Fertilize monthly from February to October, remove suckers as needed.
• Philodendrons
  • If they made it through the freeze you should see at least baby shoots coming up from the ground. Clear away dead leaves to get a good look before you give up on them.
• Roses
  • Deadhead as needed throughout the season to encourage new blooms.
• Spirea (and those related to Baby’s Breath)
  • Prune dead, broken, or weak branches after flowering. Snip dead flowers to encourage a second bloom.
• ‘Vegetable’ Garden
  • May is still in range to plant and harvest:
    • Fruit: cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon
    • Legumes: black-eyed peas, Lima beans
    • Herbs: Anise, Basil, bay, catnip, cumin, lavender, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tansy, tarragon, thyme
    • Vegetables: Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, okra, onions, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomatillos

All right, now it’s time to head outside and get to work!