For the Northern Nevada gardener, May brings a true sense that Spring has finally arrived. The soft greens of the new leaves on the trees and expected and unexpected pops of colorful flowers create a welcome relief from winters starkness. Even the dandelions look pretty in May. It feels so good to be digging and planting in the soil with the sun warming your back. The lilacs and snowball bushes will be blooming this month with Iris's and Peony's bursting into their glory towards the end of the Month. We look forward to your visits here at the Nursery and know you will find plenty of inspiration with all of the new plant material arriving almost daily. Let the gardeners celebration begin!

Hardy Water Lilies are the mainstay of the water garden. Most species grow rapidly and need repotting every couple of years- at least! They are called hardy because they can survive through freezing winters in the pond. (Tropical lilies won't withstand freezing and have different requirements.)

Hardy water lilies that are grown in ponds with no fish may need occassional fertilizing to produce great blooms. Be careful about over fertilizing, though, because the fertilizer also feeds the algae! Hardy lilies grown in ponds with fish will be fertilized by fish waste.

Infrequent division of the rhizome will produce the best blooms. Try to divide your hardy lilies no more than once in three years. Sometimes they will grow too much, though, and it will not harm the plant to divide it more often.

As a whole, crabapples,a genus of deciduous trees or shrubs that grow to be 6 to 50 feet tall,are among the most ornamental fruiting trees around with 2-inch, bitter fruits and broad, flat and lobed leaves. Crabapples come in weeping, columnar, spreading, vase-shaped and pyramid-shaped varieties. Their main appeal is the clustered, 5-petaled pink, white or red blossoms that they produce in early spring before the young greenery appears.

Crabapples have a reputation for being disease-prone; scab, mildew and fire blight are among the potential problems. They also are susceptible to pests like the Japanese beetle. However, many varieties that are resistant to these problems now exist.

Pick crabapple varieties that are resistant to or tolerant of disease.

Think about the potential size of the crabapple tree, when it flowers and if it flowers annually (preferred) or biannually. Remember that flowers can be single, semi-double and double and can range in color from white to red. Double flowers have a longer display time but are lacking in fruit display.

If you are a berry lover, you can't possibly have a garden without dedicating a space to grow delicious homegrown strawberries. Some people even go as far as saying they are the best of all the berries. What is unique about the strawberry (actually a member of the rose family) is that it is the only fruit with seeds on the outside rather than the inside.

The delicate but great-tasting heart-shaped berry has always been associated with love, passion, purity, and healing. Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other.

And speaking of legends and folklore, locals in some parts of Bavaria still practice the annual rite--each spring--of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to the elves. They believe that the elves, (who are known to be passionately fond of strawberries--what good taste they have), will help to produce healthy calves and an abundance of milk in return.

Strawberries are also prized for their medicinal purposes and health attributes. Ounce for ounce, strawberries have more Vitamin C than citrus fruit and have been associated with lowering cholesterol, easing symptoms of gout and digestion problems and lowering the risk of certain types of cancer.

Strawberries are generally divided into three groups: spring bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral. The fruits of day-neutral plants and everbearers are usually smaller than the fruits of the spring-bearers. Spring bearing strawberries generally produce a crop during a 2-4 week period in the spring. Ever-bearing strawberries produce three periods of flowers and fruit during the spring, summer, and fall--while day neutral strawberries will produce fruit throughout the growing season.

Strawberries prefer the sun but do tolerate some shade. Their major requirement is good drainage, so they'll benefit from being planted in mounded soil, terraced beds, barrels or other types of containers. They can also be used as an edging plant or a groundcover.

We invite you to discover the sensational flavor of homegrown strawberries!

Strawberry Planting and Care Instructions
Be sure to plant strawberry starts with their crown just above the soil level. Use a good soil amendment to help them get going well. We recommend spacing plants 12" apart. Remove all flowers the first two months to help with rooting and then remove runners so that the plant can put its energy into producing fruit.

Placing plastic sheeting underneath the foliage will help keep the soil warm and weed-free. It also deters slugs, snails and other crawling insects from feeding on foliage and berries. Water your plants using drip irrigation or by flooding trenches between the mounds or terraces. Keep them healthy by feeding fish emulsion, which is low in nitrogen and will promote more bud growth and fruit.

1. Fertilize! Fertilize! Fertilize! Everything wants to grow this month and after a long winter all flowers, trees, and shrubs are hungry. Choose from our Dr. Earth Organics, or our Master Nursery Fertilizers. Try Master Nursery Liquid Gold for more robust color on plant material.
2. Now is the time to plant Dahlia tubers and Begonia bulbs. They are more cold sensitive and appreciate a warmer soil temperature.
3. Dead head Daffodils and Tulips. Leave the foliage since it will photosynthesize energy for the bulbs for next year. As the leaves start to yellow cut them back. Daffodil and Tulip bulbs can be transplanted after that.
4. Frost happens. Freezeproof enhances plants' natural antifreeze properties. Freezeproof adds protection to plants of 3 to 9 degrees up to 30 days.
5. Spurge can be controlled now by applying Portrait Broadleaf Weed Preventer to the lawn. This pre-emergent kills the seeds in the grass without hurting the lawn.
6. Marigolds, salvias, vinca, impatiens, tomatoes and peppers turn black at 32 degrees---so be cautious!
7. Aphids are very present in May. Get a head start on this damaging insect by using Master Nursery Pestfighter to control aphids.
8. Ladybugs and Lacewings are available to fight aphids organically. We also have Ladybug Lures to keep the ladybugs in your yard.
9. Mother's Day is the time that we think of roses. Roses will be arriving in time for Mother's Day in full bloom and ready for planting in your yard.
10. Sunny days and warm weather bring algae bloom in the pond. Use Microbe-lift Bio Blue to add shade to your pond and don't forget the good bacteria.