May Landscape Checklist

Share this May landscape essentials checklist with clients, and they may hire you to take care of some or all of these projects for them:

* Get summer sprays of color started by planting bulbs of dahlia, lily, tuberous begonia and gladiola.

* It's time to fertilize peonies, tulips and daffodils.

* Get a jumpstart on annuals by planting hardy varieties, such as dianthus, petunia, snapdragon and pansy.

* Hang mixed baskets of fuchsia, geranium and impatiens on commercial clients' properties, and plant the zinnia, lobelia and marigold in the ground or in containers.

* As perennial shoots start peeking up through the soil, give them a light dose of fertilizer. Then head for the nursery to start selecting this season's new perennials, many of which can be planted now.

* There is still time to plant the early birds, such as primrose, coral bell, candytuft and saxifraga. In mild climates, start adding summer flowering plants such as phlox, daylily and delphinium.

* Aerate, fertilize and overseed lawns.

* Conduct irrigation checkups.

* Finish your pruning duties on sap-oozing shrubs and trees; waiting until June can cause new growth to appear. Without a chance to mature, new growth won't survive the winter. In milder climates, such as the Pacific Northwest, you'll want to hold off on pruning evergreens until early June.

* Weed and make preemergent herbicide applications.

* Take care of aphid and tent caterpillar problems.