Planning
___ Get your lawn mower in good condition. Make sure the blades are sharp.
___ Make a final decision on vegetables to be planned for an early to midsummer harvest.
___ Gather dropped live oak leaves to use as mulch.
Planting
___ Start warm-season annual seeds in flats or pots. Seedlings may be placed outside for 6 hours a day during daytime temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
___ Starting this month, plant perennials, vines, groundcovers, shrubs, and spring-flowering trees.
___ Plant roses purchased in containers.
___ This is ideally the last month to plant balled-and-burlapped trees.
___ Plant by seed: collards, lima beans, mustard, radish, snap beans, Swiss chard, and kohlrabi.
Care
___ Remove faded flowers and developing seedpods from spring-flowering bulbs. Do not remove the green foliage.
___ Do not disturb or stress warm-season turf grass this month by aerateing, filling over or dethatching.
___ Keep an eye out for late frosts, and cover any perennials you think might be vulnerable.
___ Keep the area (1-2 feet) around newly planted trees free of grass and weeds.
Watering
___ Monitor newly planted bedding plants and seeds started in pots or flats for water.
___ Although irrigating this month is not usually required, water established turf grass, perennials, roses, and shrubs thoroughly if there has been insufficient rainfall. Newly planted perennials, roses, and shrubs will need special attention.
___ Water newly planted trees, vegetable transplants, vegetable beds, vines, ground covers, and ornamental grasses thoroughly as needed.
Problems
___ Stay on top of weeds, and keep beds well mulched with at least 3 inches of material such as dry grass clippings or leaves.
___ Prevent warm-season weeds in lawns and weeded perennial beds by applying a pre-emergent. Be sure to read and understand all label instructions.
___ Rake or mow (with bag attached) to remove leaves from lawns.
___ Evergreen trees such as hollies and Southern magnolias will drop leaves in spring. This is an event called natural pruning or shedding and is not cause for alarm.
Pruning
___ Prune roses now if you have not already done so.
Month-By-Month Gardening in Texas by Dan Gill & Dale Groom