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Help for the Home Gardener

 

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Visit the Center for Home Gardening

Stop by the Center for Home Gardening and get your gardening questions answered by our expert staff and Master Gardener volunteers at the Plant Doctor Desk, or check out our houseplant display and other home gardening resources! Be sure to also take a stroll through our 23 outdoor demonstration gardens, which include a vegetable and fruit garden, cut flower garden, an experimental garden, and a newly renovated native prairie garden.

Plant Doctor Desk (Walk-In)

April–October open daily, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

November–March open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Horticulture Answer Service (Phone & E-mail)

Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–noon

Phone: (314) 577-5143

E-mail: plantinformation@mobot.org

May Gardening Tips

  • Begin planting warm-season annuals around mid-May. Mother's Day is usually a safe time to plant all warm-season plants and move overwintering tropical plants outside. Once planted, begin fertilizing as needed.
     
  • Fertilize azaleas after bloom. Use and acid-lover, slow-release fertilizer if a soil test indicates.
     
  • Rose slugs (Hymenoptera) may be feeding on roses this month. Damage will first show as tan spots, and as the larvae grow, holes will appear as damage becomes heavier.
     
  • Wait to remove spring bulb foliage or next year's flower production will decline. Allow the foliage to die down naturally or wait until most of the foliage has yellowed. Once foliage has died, bulbs can be moved or divided as needed.
     
  • Warm season weeds are starting to show up now. Manually remove or apply an appropriate post-emergent as needed.
     
  • Stone fruit trees with a history of peach tree borer (Synanthedon exitiosa) problems should receive their first spray in the first half of the month.
     
  • Do not spray fruits while in bloom. Refer to your local extension for more information on spraying fruits (MU Extension).

More Gardening Tips