Flowers
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Remember that it is still too early to plant non-hardy flowers (last chance of frost is mid-May)
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Direct sow hardy annuals, biennials, and perennials (larkspur, annual poppies, and sweet peas)
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Provide supports for peonies and other perennials that need staking
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Divide and/or transplant perennials; train climbers onto trellises
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Prune roses to buds that point outward, remove dead wood
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Start seeds indoors to transplant next month
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Plant gladioli, lily-of-the-valley bulbs
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Work organic matter into flower beds, and prepare new beds
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Control weeds by mulching, cultivating, or pulling
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Plant blueberries
Garden
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Plant cool crops (arugula, broccoli, cabbage,cauliflower, lettuce, peas,potatoes, radishes, spinach)
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Plant and/or transplant strawberries, raspberries, or other small fruit
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Protect seedlings from cutworms with collars
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Thin cool season crops to proper spacing
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Start seeds indoors to transplant next month
Lawn
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Compost any nondiseased garden cuttings, add a little 5-10-5 organic fertilizer, and keep the pile moist
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Control crabgrass before it germinates with a preemergent herbicide
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Get ready to mow! Have the mower blades sharpened.
Trees/Shrubs
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Plant and/or transplant shrubs and trees on windless, cloudy days
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Prune spring flowering trees/shrubs after they bloom (forsythia, weigela, spirea)
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Pinch back candles on evergreens to ½ to thicken
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Mulch out – not up (2-4” high is plenty, 3” from trunk)
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Prune twigs affected by winter kill after new growth begins
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Look for insects that emerge this month (borers, white flies, leaf miners, lace bugs on azaleas; red mites or scale on peonies)
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Fertilize trees if leaves are small, sparse, and pale
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Begin looking for bagworms, remove and destroy them
Important: The average date of the last frost in Loudoun County is May 10th – be prepared to cover newly planted flowers and vegetables.
Contact the Loudoun County Master Gardener Help Desk with your questions: 703-771-5150 or loudounmg@vt.edu
