Gardening May: This is to be done this month

Fertilize, sow and harvest? Our garden calendar tells you which tasks are pending in the coming weeks. However, you should not be hasty.

Sensitive plants include, for example

• Geraniums, dahlias, begonias
• Vegetables like zucchini, cucumber, tomato, beans
• lettuce, celery
• Herbslike basil.

So that the grown and potted plants are not damaged by the cold, wait until after the ice saints to plant these plants. If the temperatures at night are too low, the delicate stems can be protected with a fleece.

Aside from protecting against the cold, there is a lot to do in the garden in May. For example, regular fertilizing is the order of the day. Withered flower bulbs can sprout again with a little fertilizer. In order to be able to store nutrients for the winter, bulb flowers, like tulips, are fertilized with a fertilizer rich in potassium.

If daffodils that have been in one location for a long time no longer grow as well, they are divided. When dividing, the plants are separated in the ground together with the root ball, so that one specimen is obtained from a second one that you can plant elsewhere.

Another main task is casting. The nursery in the bed in particular needs water regularly. Because young trees do not yet have deep roots like ingrown trees that take care of themselves from deep layers. In addition, the first hot days can already come in May. We have practical tips for watering in this article collected for you.

In May you can help your lawn to become particularly strong, dense and green: first remove the weeds. Afterward trim the lawn to four to five centimeters and then give it a fertilizer treatment. You can use the resulting lawn clippings for mulching or add them to the compost mixed with other garden waste. If the lawn clippings are not mixed, a typical smell of silage occurs as it decomposes. It is therefore particularly important to aerate the compost well.

If you have attractive hedges like boxwood in your garden, cut them now and then cut them into shape. Large shrubs such as forsythia, hibiscus, laburnum and lilac are also now pruned and divided if necessary. To do this, old branches must be removed directly at the base of the plants to make room for younger shoots. You can cut the remaining branches into shape.

For optimal privacy in the garden, you can also plant deciduous flowering shrubs such as summer lilac and weigela or evergreen shrubs such as cherry laurel and plant yew in the garden. But only use container plants for this. These already have a root ball, without which the plant cannot grow quickly and threatens to die prematurely. Important note: Only topiary is allowed between March and October due to breeding birds.