May Gardening “To Do” List by Zone
Zone 1
- Prune flowering fruit trees while in bloom; use cuttings indoors
- Complete bare-root planting
- Amend soil with humus (manure, ground bark, peat moss, leaf mold)
- Set out summer bedding plants when they become available
- Set out tomatoes, eggplants when soil warms and danger of frost is over
- Mow lawns if grass and soil are dry enough
- Set out plants of cold crops (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts)
- Plant peas, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, turnips
- Feed spring-flowering shrubs after bloom
- Apply shading to greenhouse
- Set out cool-season annuals
- Sow seeds of warm-season annuals outdoors
- Set out summer-flowering bulbs
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root fruit trees
- Apply dormant spray to fruit trees before buds swell
- Plant permanent ground covers and cool-season lawns
- Feed cool-season lawns and loosen thatch
- Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
- Plant seedlings of cool-weather vegetables
- Sow seeds for cool-weather vegetables
- Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials
- Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials
- Plant bare-root and container roses
- Prune roses (when temperatures are above freezing)
- Uncover roses for spring and apply dormant spray
- Plant bare-root, balled-and-burlapped, and container trees, shrubs, and vines
- Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines
- Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines
- Plant frost-tolerant trees
- Plant needle-leafed evergreens
- Set out cool-season annuals
- Set out seedlings of warm-season annuals
- Set out summer-flowering bulbs
- Plant fall-blooming bulbs
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root fruit trees
- Plant cool-season lawns and permanent ground covers
- Feed and aerate cool-season lawns and loosen thatch
- Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
- Plant seedlings of cool-weather vegetables
- Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials
- Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials
- Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials after bloom
- Plant bare-root and container roses
- Uncover roses for spring and apply dormant spray
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
- Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines before buds swell
- Plant tender shrubs and vines
- Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines
- Plant frost-tolerant trees
- Plant needle-leafed evergreens
Zone 2
Zone 3
Zone 4
- Set out cool-season annuals
- Set out seedlings of warm-season annuals
- Set out summer-flowering bulbs
- Plant fall-blooming bulbs
- Divide and replant crowded winter- and spring-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and
- Apply dormant spray to fruit trees before buds swell
- Spray apples, peaches, and pears that have been affected with canker problems
- Plant permanent ground covers
- Plant, feed, and aerate cool-season lawns and loosen thatch
- Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
- Plant seedlings of cool-weather vegetables
- Set out herbs
- Sow fast-growing warm-season vegetables
- Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials
- Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials after bloom
- Plant container roses
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root trees, shrubs and vines
- Apply dormant spray to shrubs and vines
- Plant tender shrubs and vines
- Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines
- Plant frost-tolerant trees
- Plant needle-leafed evergreens
Zone 5
- Set out cool-season annuals
- Set out seedlings of warm-season annuals
- Set out summer-flowering bulbs
- Plant fall-blooming bulbs
- Divide and replant crowded winter- and spring-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root fruit trees
- Apply dormant spray to fruit trees before buds swell
- Spray apples, peaches, and pears that have been affected with canker problems
- Plant permanent ground covers
- Plant cool- and warm-season lawns
- Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
- Plant seedlings of cool-weather vegetables
- Sow fast-growing warm-season vegetables
- Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials
- Sow seeds for tender perennials
- Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials after bloom
- Plant container roses
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
- Apply dormant spray to shrubs and vines
- Plant tender shrubs and vines
- Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines
- Plant balled-and-burlapped trees
- Plant trees in containers
- Plant frost-tolerant trees
- Plant needle-leafed evergreens
Zone 6
- Set out seedlings of warm-season annuals
- Set out summer-flowering bulbs
- Plant fall-blooming bulbs
- Divide and replant crowded winter- and spring-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root fruit trees
- Spray apples, peaches, and pears that have been affected with canker problems
- Plant permanent ground covers
- Plant and aerate lawns and loosen thatch
- Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
- Plant seedlings of cool-weather vegetables
- Sow seeds for tender perennials
- Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials after bloom
- Plant container roses
- Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
- Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines
- Plant tender shrubs and vines
- Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines
- Plant frost-tolerant trees
- Plant needle-leafed evergreens
The bugs have already been pretty bad this spring. Don’t lose hope and reach
for those toxic sprays, though! You can easily do more harm than good,
especially in a home landscape where pets, kids and shoes track those poisons
directly into your house, where they can build up. Organic and ecological
techniques are just as important in the home landscape as they are on the farm.
Meanwhile, enjoy the fullness and beauty of spring, before the heat of summer arrives in full force!
Zone 7
Compost Alert!
Mulch everywhere, from the veggie patch to the rose bushes. Only two cautions don’t pile it up too deeply, 3 to 4 inches is plenty, and don’t pile mulch up against the trunks of your trees.
Turn spring compost piles. Keep adding green material (spent pansies, finished mustard greens, etc.) to the compost heap.
- Plant summer- and fall-flowering bulbs
- Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
- Plant permanent ground covers
- Plant or repair lawns
- Plant ornamental grasses
- Plant annuals for summer and fall color
- Plant balled-and-burlapped or container fruit trees
- Spray dormant fruit trees
- Prune frost-sensitive fruit trees
- Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
- Plant heat-loving perennials
- Plant container roses
- Plant balled-and-burlapped or container trees, shrubs, and vines
- Prune spring-flowering or tender shrubs andvines during or just after bloom
- Plant or transplant warm-season vegetableseedlings
Zone 8
- Set out annuals
- Plant summer-flowering bulbs
- Plant balled-and-burlapped and container fruit trees
- Prune frost-sensitive fruit trees
- Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
- Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
- Plant or repair warm-season lawns
- Plant ornamental grasses
- Plant fall-blooming perennials
- Prune tender deciduous shrubs and vines
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines during or just after bloom
- Sow seeds for warm-season vegetables
- Plant seedlings of warm-season vegetables
Zone 9
- Plant for summer color
- Plant fall-flowering bulbs
- Feed and water cacti or succulents that are blooming or actively growing
- Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
- Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
- Repair or plant lawns
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines during or just after bloom
- Sow seeds for warm-season vegetables
- Transplant warm-season vegetable seedlings
Zone 10
- Plant annuals for summer color
- Plant fall-blooming bulbs
- Feed and water cacti and succulents that are growing or blooming
- Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
- Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
- Plant fall-blooming and hardy perennials
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines during or just after bloom
- Transplant warm-season vegetable seedlings
Zone 11
- Install or repair drip irrigation systems
- Plant beans, beets, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons
- Bring out house plants to a shaded, wind-sheltered patio
- Prune spring-blooming shrubs and vines after bloom
- Feed and shape rose bushes
- Make succession plantings of gladiolus
- Deadhead annuals and perennials for prolonged bloom
"So many seeds — so little time."
~ Author unknown
