General Garden Care
-Plant warm-season flowering annuals, vines, herbs, and vegetables after the Chicago area’s average last frost date of May 15.
-Be sure newly purchased annuals have been hardened off properly before planting them outside.
-Avoid fertilizing newly planted annuals for two weeks.Annual and Perennial Care
-Stake tall perennials before they reach 6 inches.
-Begin to regularly pinch back fall-blooming perennials (pinch once a week until the middle of July).
-Continue to direct the growth of perennial vines on their supports. Climbing roses should be encouraged to develop lateral, flower-bearing canes.Tree and Shrub Care
-Plant trees and shrubs, including balled and burlapped evergreens on a cloudy day, early in the morning, to prevent heat and transplant shock.
-Water thoroughly and gently at planting time and continue for the first year with 1 inch of water a week, spread throughout the root zone.
-Mulch root zones to conserve moisture.Rose Care
-Fertilize roses with a liquid 20-20-20 solution when flower buds are set.
-Do not handle rosebushes if foliage is wet and infected.
-Monitor roses for rose slugs (small white caterpillars with black heads) and their damage (tissuelike patches on the leaves).Lawn Care
-Mow lawn at 2 to 2½ inches, removing one-third or less of the leaf blade.
-Leave grass clippings on the lawn to return nutrients to the soil, or add them to compost heap.
-Fertilize lawn in mid-May if necessary.Fruit, Vegetable, and Herb Care
-Plant corn, snap beans, summer squash, and New Zealand spinach in mid-May.
-Thin carrots, beets, and late lettuce.
-Spread several inches of aged compost on vegetable and herb beds, if not done yet.
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