Gardening Guides
Southwest Gardener's May Checklist
Let May's warm temperatures guide your edible and flowering garden plantings, and don't forget to protect and prune your picks
May is the perfect time to add summer-flowering shrubs and perennials to your desert garden, before the heat of summer arrives. How about planting some cacti or succulents in your landscape? They add great texture to the garden with their different shapes and offer another bonus — they are low maintenance.
By May the danger of frost is almost over for those of you who garden in the upper elevations. Sharpen those pruners and get ready to prune back spring-flowering shrubs once the flowers have faded. For those of you who have waited patiently, it's finally time to get busy in the vegetable garden and sow seeds.
The American Southwest is a vast area, covering all of Arizona and New Mexico as well as parts of California, Nevada, Texas and Utah. The regions of the Southwest are varied and include low deserts, high deserts and mountainous regions, covering USDA zones 5 though 9.
By May the danger of frost is almost over for those of you who garden in the upper elevations. Sharpen those pruners and get ready to prune back spring-flowering shrubs once the flowers have faded. For those of you who have waited patiently, it's finally time to get busy in the vegetable garden and sow seeds.
The American Southwest is a vast area, covering all of Arizona and New Mexico as well as parts of California, Nevada, Texas and Utah. The regions of the Southwest are varied and include low deserts, high deserts and mountainous regions, covering USDA zones 5 though 9.
Low, Mid- and High Deserts
Plant summer-flowering shrubs. May is a great time to add beautiful flowering shrubs to your landscape before the intense heat of summer arrives.
If you like purple flowers, then try planting one of the many different kinds of Texas ranger (Leucophyllum sp). The color of their foliage ranges from the bright green of 'Rio Bravo' (Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Rio Bravo') to the gray-green of 'Green Cloud' (Leucophyllum frutescens 'Green Cloud') and the striking gray foliage of 'Thundercloud' (Leucophyllum candidum 'Thundercloud'). Flushes of purple flowers appear off and on summer through early fall.
Shown: Thundercloud silver sage (Leucophyllum candidum 'Thundercloud')
Plant summer-flowering shrubs. May is a great time to add beautiful flowering shrubs to your landscape before the intense heat of summer arrives.
If you like purple flowers, then try planting one of the many different kinds of Texas ranger (Leucophyllum sp). The color of their foliage ranges from the bright green of 'Rio Bravo' (Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Rio Bravo') to the gray-green of 'Green Cloud' (Leucophyllum frutescens 'Green Cloud') and the striking gray foliage of 'Thundercloud' (Leucophyllum candidum 'Thundercloud'). Flushes of purple flowers appear off and on summer through early fall.
Shown: Thundercloud silver sage (Leucophyllum candidum 'Thundercloud')
Add cacti and succulents. Do you love the interesting shapes and easy care of succulents? Mexican fence post (Pachycereus marinatus), prickly pear (Opuntia sp), yucca and agave are just a few examples of cacti and succulents that will add visual interest to any landscape.
Believe it or not, cacti and succulents can get sunburned, especially when newly planted. To avoid this, note which direction the cacti or succulent was growing originally and be sure to point it in the same direction when planting. The reason for this is that the side of the cacti that points south has become more resistant to the sun than the side that points north. The direction is often marked on the container.
Water established cacti once a month during the summer and succulents every other week.
Shown: Beavertail prickly pear (Opuntia basilaris)
Believe it or not, cacti and succulents can get sunburned, especially when newly planted. To avoid this, note which direction the cacti or succulent was growing originally and be sure to point it in the same direction when planting. The reason for this is that the side of the cacti that points south has become more resistant to the sun than the side that points north. The direction is often marked on the container.
Water established cacti once a month during the summer and succulents every other week.
Shown: Beavertail prickly pear (Opuntia basilaris)
Add flowering plants to attract pollinators to your vegetable garden. Flowering plants such as cosmos, lavender, marigold, salvia and sunflowers not only beautify your vegetable garden, but they also help to attract pollinators for edibles such as beans, cucumbers, melons and squash.
Cosmos, marigolds and sunflowers can be planted from seed when you sow your vegetable garden.
Shown: Cosmos and marigolds planted among vegetables
Cosmos, marigolds and sunflowers can be planted from seed when you sow your vegetable garden.
Shown: Cosmos and marigolds planted among vegetables
Upper Elevations (Over 6,000 Feet)
Cut off dead flowers from flowering bulbs such as crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and tulips. Don't remove the leaves yet; they will provide food for next year's flowers. Pull out the leaves after they have turned yellow.
Shown: Hyacinth
Cut off dead flowers from flowering bulbs such as crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and tulips. Don't remove the leaves yet; they will provide food for next year's flowers. Pull out the leaves after they have turned yellow.
Shown: Hyacinth
Plant your favorite herbs. Would you like to snip off fresh herbs whenever you need them for that special meal you are preparing? Herbs are easy to grow. Pick a spot that receives at least six hours of sun and plant some basil, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme in your garden.
Herbs aren't picky, but they do like to be watered deeply and then allowed to dry out a little between watering. Add water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Herbs aren't picky, but they do like to be watered deeply and then allowed to dry out a little between watering. Add water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Fertilize roses after new leaves appear. Roses like fertile, rich soil. You can fertilize and enrich the soil around your rosebushes with this special mixture:
Do this every spring and you will be rewarded with healthy, green rosebushes covered in beautiful blooms.
- Your favorite rose fertilizer (follow the package directions for how much to add)
- 4 cups compost
- 2 cups aged steer manure for each rosebush
Do this every spring and you will be rewarded with healthy, green rosebushes covered in beautiful blooms.
Plant warm-season vegetables after the average frost date for your area has passed. As your soil warms up, it is time to plant beans, corn, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and melons in the vegetable garden. All of these vegetables can be planted from transplants or from seed (with the exception of corn, which must be sown directly in the garden).
Get ready for June. It is getting hot in the garden. Next month I'll share how to look for signs of heat stress in plants and how to help them cope with extreme temperatures.
More regional gardening guides
Get ready for June. It is getting hot in the garden. Next month I'll share how to look for signs of heat stress in plants and how to help them cope with extreme temperatures.
More regional gardening guides
Lightly prune palo verde (Parkinsonia sp) and mesquite (Prosopis sp) trees, focusing on removing crossing branches and any dead or broken branches.
Also prune spring-flowering shrubs once they have finished flowering. Cassia (Senna sp), Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora),Valentine bush (Eremophila maculata 'Valentine') and brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) are just a few spring-flowering shrubs you can prune now.
Shown: Flowering 'Desert Museum' palo verde trees