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Getting your dahlia tubers planted in late April or early May will give you beautiful blooms during the summer.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Hanging baskets are a popular and welcome gift for Mother’s Day.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Springtime is the time to begin watching for aphids on many plants in the landscape. Frequent scouting in the landscape can prevent severe infestations by catching the problem while it’s easier to control.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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It’s easy for lady beetle larvae, like the one pictured here, to be mistaken for pests, but lady beetles and their larvae can be busy allies in the landscape.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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May is here and gardeners have plenty to do. We will be leaving the cold, frosty nights behind us. Soil temperatures are rising as well, and our gardens will soon be ready for warm season annuals. Here is a list of tasks you will not want to neglect this month.

• Check sprinklers and drip lines for leaks and inefficiencies. Clean filters and raise or fix sprinkler heads as needed.
• Harden off tender transplants for a week or so before you plant them in the garden.
• Plant warm-season annuals after the average last frost date for your area, which is generally around May 15. The specific date for your location can be found at climate.usu.edu. If you cannot wait to plant, consider using seasonal protection as needed. Such measures include walls-of-water, frost cloth and cloches.
• Monitor for aphids on new spring growth found on brassicas, roses and other plants. Consider using insecticidal soap or a stiff stream of water to spray them off. These softer options allow natural predator populations to catch up and start doing the work for you. Learn what ladybug larvae look like – they are good guys, too!
• Plant summer-blooming bulbs now, such as gladiolas, cannas and begonias.
• Plant dahlia tubers 4 to 6 inches deep in slightly damp soil. Keep the eyes pointed up and backfill. Avoid watering until green shoots have surfaced.
• Fertilize the lawn with a slow-release fertilizer. Aerate now if you were not able to do so in April.

With a list like this, you may feel overwhelmed. Take things one at a time. Reflect on a pleasing landscape and the coming harvest. You’ll find it worth the effort.

Mother’s Day gifts for gardening moms

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, consider this list of gifts for the green-thumbed mom in your life. She will appreciate your encouragement of one of her favorite hobbies. But, believe me, she will appreciate your help even more.

• Visit your local gardening center and buy a hanging basket full of bright annual flowers for her porch. Install a hook if needed and help her hang it.
• Good soil is a gardener’s best friend. Offer to buy, haul and spread compost or mulch for your mom.
• Ask her for a list of her favorite veggie starts. Once bought, offer to help her plant them.
• Handy gardening tools make great gifts and will be loved and used for years. A multi-purpose Hori Hori garden knife can be used to dig holes, cut twine and remove weeds. A stirrup hoe or Cape Cod weeder will make short work of cutting off weeds below the soil surface.
• Consider buying her a padded garden kneeler, a tote for small gardening tools or a garden hod basket for carrying and washing vegetables.
• A bird feeder, bird bath or a mason bee hotel will help your mom create an oasis for nature’s helpful creatures.
• When in doubt, find her a plant that bears her first name. Rose and dahlia cultivars are often labeled with a woman’s name. Roses named Megan, Alison and Elizabeth are on this list. Some well-loved dahlias are christened Caitlin’s Joy, Isabel, Sweet Nathalie and Bracken Joan. You can even find a peony named Barbara and a dwarf lilac named Miss Kim. There are many possibilities, but one thing is certain: a plant bearing her name (or yours) will melt her heart.