What to do in your garden during May

Follow the tips beneath as a basic maintenance guide for your garden this May.

Plant & Sow

Annuals

Sow all summer flowering annuals:

Sow these winter flowering annuals:

Perennials

Gardenias – known as one of the most fragrant shade-loving plants. They have attractive evergreen glossy foliage that grows into a neat round bush. These beautiful plants love growing in well-drained, acid soil.

Vegetables

Sow vegetables like:

Garden Maintenance

Fertilize

Fertilize fruit trees like: 

• Fertilise annuals and bedding plants with a liquid fertilizer every 14 days.

General garden maintenance

• Lift Dahlias during this month and store in a cool, dry place.
• Plant bulbs like Ranunculus and anemones at two-week intervals to extend the flowering time.
• Sow cool-season shade lawn.
• Make hardwood cuttings.
• Mow the lawn if necessary.
• Water plants properly, giving them a thorough soaking every three or four days to encourage deep root development. Mulch well with organic material.
• Spray apples, pears and quinces against codling moth; and apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums against fruit fly. Spray grapes for mildew where necessary.
• Deadhead roses regularly and water two or three times weekly.
• Mulch the garden beds.
• Remember to deadhead annuals and bedding plants regularly and feed every 2 weeks or so with diluted liquid fertilizer.
• Continue to remove weeds from lawns and pavings.
• Lift and divide spring-flowering irises.
• Keep all perennials well watered and feed with all Purpose Fertilizer.
• Remember to water the garden early in the morning and preferably on wind-free days.
• Feed flowering shrubs once a month.
• Feed your hydrangeas.

For May maintenance tips on watering, pruning,
pests and disease, fertilizing and much more visit our countrywide maintenance guide.