Home Grounds and Gardens

Follow these lawn care tips for a thicker fuller lawn with few weeds and a healthier root system:
- Raise your mower deck to 3 inches
- First application of lawn fertilizer can be applied around Memorial Day. If fertilizer was applied last fall, a spring application is usually not warranted.
- For optimal pre-emergence crabgrass control do not apply materials until soil temperatures are between 55 and 59 F. Materials applied earlier can lead to polluted runoff and wasted money because crabgrass does not germinate until soil temperatures, at 2 inches below the surface, are between 60 and 64 F.
- For more lawn care tips, check out Cornell's Turf Guy Rules.
Wait to set out tomatoes and peppers, which prefer warm soil temperatures, until early June or give them additional protection. Get more veggie tips.
Incorporate compost into your gardens. Compost and/or rotted manure is a welcome addition to the garden.
Prune ROSES (pdf) by early in the month. If brown tissue is noticed in the interior of the cane, prune down to a location of white healthy tissue. Remove all dead and/or diseased canes.
Leave bulb foliage until it yellows and wilts. The foliage needs sunlight to produce energy and store it in the bulb for next years blooms. Think about planting perennials or annuals around theses areas to camouflage the yellowing foliage until it can be removed. Explore "How to grow bulbs".
Plant annuals late in month (with the exception of pansies, snap dragons and a few other frost tolerant annuals).
Plant Oriental and Asiatic Lily bulbs by early May. Dahlias, gladiolas, tuberous begonias and cannas should be planted at the end of month.
Houseplants can be placed outdoors after night temperatures stay above 50 F. Move them gradually from a heavily shaded location to one with more light. Most houseplants do well under a shade tree. Houseplants in containers without drainage are poor candidates for outside. A rainstorm may drown and rot them.
Prune spring flowering shrubs after blooming has ceased. (i.e., lilac, forsythia, azaleas, deutzia, mock orange, bridal wreath spirea, spirea thunbergia, S. vanhouttei, and weigela.
Have soil pH tested to prepare your garden and learn about gardening from your local Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners will be conducting soil testing clinics and gardening workshops this spring.

May's Pests

Moss is found in ANY soil where turf is thin and soil moist throughout the spring and/or fall. Once established moss will tolerate very dry conditions. Most moss control products (potassium salts of fatty acids) will provide fair control. After a few applications, remove dead moss and reseed with a species that will thrive at that site. In shade, plant fine fescues. In full sun on droughty areas consider tall fescue or perennial ryegrass. Alternatively, consider starting a moss garden in areas that do not get 6 hours of sunlight or are consistently moist.
Now is the best time to look for and control slugs. Place grapefruit rinds or banana peels in beds and remove hiding slugs. Pie tins at ground level, half full with beer can also trap slugs. Iron phosphate (sluggo) sprinkled in beds attracts and kills slugs effectively.
Watch larva hatching from egg

Viburnum leaf beetle larvae are hatching now and feeding on leaves of viburnum. Watch out for this pest and become a Citizen Scientist.
Damping-off causes the collapse of young flower and vegetable seedlings at the soil line due to an infection of a fungus. For seed starting, begin with sterile soil. Microwave 2-3 lbs of moist soil at full power for 150 seconds.
Birchleaf Minor causes dark greenish spots expanding to blotches on leaves of birch. This is mostly cosmetic injury only. Control of the first generation is most important. Highly visible specimen trees can be treated with insecticieds.
Inspect honeylocust for early pod gall midge and plant bug damage. New leaflets appear red and swollen from pod gall midge. Plant bug feeding on new growth causes new leaflets to be distorted or fall off. Severe infestations may require insecticide treatments. Horticultural oil is the only general use spray.
Pineapple-shaped galls at the tip of spruce shoots is the work of the cooley spruce gall adelgid. Prune out galls before July and bury or burn them. Do not fertilize infested trees. Spray Douglas fir early May with horticultural oil before budbreak.
Evergreens (spruce, pine) may be showing brown or yellow needles. The cause is most likely road salt or exposure to dry winter winds. Look for new growth on affected branches before pruning. Be sure to mulch under the drip line of all trees and water through during dry periods.
Winter injury, due to cold temperatures. has caused much dead wood in trees and shrubs. Prune out dead branches and twigs. If entire plants have died back to the ground, root sprouts may form new plants, but may represent different plants in the same genus due to grafted root stock.
Cranberry fruitworm can cause wormy blueberries. Use pheromone traps to monitor adult egg laying and apply registered insecticide, 5-7 days after petal fall, when adult moths are present.
Apple Scab appears as olive brown spots on the leaves and fruit in summer. Manage organically to reduce the overwintering source by removing leaves and apples from last year. Good pruning will reduce number of sprays needed. Apply a registered fungicide from tight cluster (flowers buds visible but no color) until 2 -3 weeks after petal fall. Do not apply captan within 10 days of a dormant oil spray.

Disclaimer - This publication may contain pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. These recommendations are provided only as a guide. It is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current label directions for the specific pesticide being used. Due to constantly changing labels and product registrations, some of the suggestions given in this writing may no longer be legal by the time you read them. If any information in these recommendations disagrees with the label, the recommendation must be disregarded. No endorsement is intended for products mentioned, nor is criticism meant for products not mentioned. The author and Cornell Cooperative Extension assume no liability resulting form the use of these guidelines.

Pest control
Plant culture

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Soil & Fertility

Need to know how much fertilizer or lime to add? Learn how to test your soil. (Pdf)

Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Survey

Information on soil testing at the Cornell's Nutrient Analysis Lab

Soil Sample Survey for Cattaraugus and Allegany

The Department of Horticulture Nutrient and Elemental Analysis Lab for testing water, plants, amended soil and sewage sludge.

Cornell Universities Diagnostic services for insect pests and plant diseases

Small scale and backyard composting

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Last updated
May 1, 2008

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