Prescott Garden Keeping - May Edition

Happy May Day.  In many parts of the world, May 1st is traditionally the beginning of the summer season.  Of course, it's still really spring here in the high country - and technically the summer solstice isn't until mid-June.

Good news!  May is about planting and blooms and birds and pollinators.  

We still have high chances of overnight frosts which can zap the life out of tender annuals, and newly planted perennials that are very young.  So, it's wise to keep an eye on the forecast and keep your frost fabric handy until about May-15th or so.

And, ironically, May is one of our drier and hotter months.  So that means that getting your watering system going and keeping it well maintained is a priority now, as well as mulching and shade.  

Our sun is intense up here in the mountains - my big tip for you this month:  Remember that although many plants are considered sun loving in general, that may not mean full, unfiltered sun in our climate at 5,000-6,000 feet elevation is ideal.  
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We don't do garden maintenance at The Whiskey Porch, but I wanted to put together a series of garden keeping checklists to help keep you on track.  Whether you are going to do it all yourself, or bring in a maintenance crew to do much of it for you, these monthly guides should be useful to you if you live in and around Prescott, AZ.

All of these checklists are very specific to the micro-climate that I am in here in downtown Prescott.  So, there will be slight variations for you depending on your specific location, as well as what you grow.  Generally speaking, these lists will relate to USDA Zone 7b.  

Each year can bring a slightly different cycle to the seasons.  Sometimes we have our first hard freeze in late October, but most often not until early December.  Keep this in mind when planning your monthly tasks.

These checklists apply generally to a landscape garden which includes primarily perennials, as well as veggies and herbs.  

​Let's get to it.

​PLANTS & PLANTING  🌱

• Our last frost date is usually right around Mothers Day or May-15th.  If you just can't stand it any longer, go ahead and start planting tender annuals with fully developed root systems prior to then - but be prepared with frost fabric and watch the overnight forecasts until May-15th.  I keep my younger annual in trays for another couple weeks.  But I begin to acclimate them (harden off) to the outdoors now in the shade during the day.
  
• Good time to bring out those tender plants that you potted up for the winter and brought indoors.  Either keep them in pots or plant them in the ground for the season.
  
• If the weather has warmed up, you can begin sowing warm season herbs, veggies, and flowers directly in the garden.  Keep well watered as the temps begin to climb during the days.  Remember to protect young seedlings from wandering deer, rabbits, etc.
  
• Plant summer/fall bulbs now like dahlias.
  
• ​Don't wait too long to harvest your cool season crops before it gets too hot - they will bolt (go to seed) or will start to decrease in quality.
  

​WATER  💦 

• Turn on your drip system and test run all cycles to address leaks (if you haven't already).  Take your time, walk your entire landscape and check that all the emitters are working properly.  Until it gets really consistently hot, I like to run my system at 50-60% of the full cycle, but I keep the schedule the same.
  
• Begin deep watering trees & shrubs - longer cycles, less often is better.  If plantings are new, augment with hand watering for the first season until they are established.
  
• ​Generally it is best to run your drip systems early in the morning.
  

​CRITTERS 🦌

• Reapply Deer Repellent to new rose buds and succulents in open areas, and scatter around perimeter of bird seed areas to deter skunks and chipmunks.
• Watch for aphids and white flies, spider mites, cutworms, elm leaf beetle larvae under leaves, and thrip.  Many of these can be controlled easily by snipping an affected branch and tossing in the trash.  Else, horticultural dormant oil can help and also insecticidal soap.  Even a hard spray from the hose can dislodge aphids.
  

​MAINTENANCE  ✂️

• Begin to think about your trellising needs with tall and climbing plants.  It's easier to setup and maintain now, before the plants get too big.
  
• Shade - believe it or not, May and June are our hottest and driest months here.  If there are perennials or annuals that prefer filtered shade, early May is the best time to get your shade cloth up, especially if nearby trees and shrubs haven't fully leafed out yet.
  
• Mulch everything.  Be generous here.  A good thick layer of mulch will help conserve moisture, keep the soil cooler, help keep weeds down, and over time will decompose and add it's goodness to your soil.  Be sure not to use mulches that come from big box stores with color additives.  Over time, you will need to replenish your mulch as it decomposes.
  
• Pinch new growth.  To encourage bushier growth and more blooms pinch fresh growth back to the next leaf set every week or two.
  
• As plants begin to bloom, you can begin deadheading (removing spent blooms) to encourage reblooms.  This doesn't apply with everything, but it often is beneficial.  Alternatively you can let blooms go to seed for wildlife.
  
• Continue fertilizing your roses, every 2-3 weeks depending on the fertilizer you are using.
  
• Watch for powdery mildew now.  Sometimes this indicates overwatering for certain plants.  Others are just easily prone to it.  Good organic fungicides include sulfur, lime-sulfur, neem oil, and potassium bicarbonate.
  
• It's a good idea to invest in a decent tank sprayer if you have a good sized garden. The cheap ones don't typically last long and it can be frustrating. Also, I recommend having 2 - one for herbicide treatments (which you should rarely if ever use) and the other for everything else.
  

OTHER - Planning  📝

• It's still not too late to order summer and fall blooming bulbs if you are able to get them in the ground soon.
  
• ​May is a good time to begin thinking about what spring blooming bulbs you might like to add for next year, as these are typically on sale now and will ship in time for you to plant them in the fall.
  

​GARDEN KEEPING JOURNAL ☑️

You can find all the other monthly checklists (as they are published each month this first year) here:

Monthly Checklists

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are you looking for more tips & inspiration?

You can find lots more good stuff and inspiration on our Garden Resources page if you'd like to start dreaming about this warmer season!

Cottage Garden Resources

It's really fun to put these checklists together.  It forces me to sit down and gather all of my usual to-dos in a more logical and organized setup - which helps me too.  And I'm getting great feedback from you all which really makes it all worthwhile!

Let me know if you think anything needs to be added to this list.

Until next time, happy planting!
~Miriam