A common azalea question is: "When do I prune my azaleas". Since they bloom on growth produced the previous year, you must wait until they finish blooming before pruning. The same holds true with spirea, forsythia, pearlbush, wisteria and any other early spring blooming plant. Azaleas don't have to be pruned every year, but you might find it desirable to remove long shoots sticking up above the rest of the bush to keep the growth more compact.

Climbing roses may also be pruned as soon as they complete flowering.

Camellias should be fertilized this month, and once azaleas finish blooming, fertilize them, too, to stimulate new growth. Just be careful not to fertilize too heavily, and evenly distribute the fertilizer over the root zone. Their shallow roots can be easily burned when fertilizer is applied in concentrated piles.

Roses have relatively high fertility requirements, so fertilization can begin now and continue every 4 to 6 weeks until September.

LAWNS

PLANTING

For faster color, purchase annuals already started. Select short, compact plants, preferably ones that have not yet begun to flower. Remove flowers and buds to give the plants an opportunity to become well established before flowering.

One of the best hot-weather, summer plants is the periwinkle (vinca). Eager gardeners setting out vinca too early may lose it to a fungal blight. By waiting until it gets hot (later in May) to plant vinca in the sunny part of the yard, you almost totally avoid this problem. Mulching can also help reduce disease problems by reducing soil splashing up onto the leaves.

Perennials for summer color include lantana, daylilies, verbena, hostas, salvia, sedums, ornamental grasses, purple coneflower, rudbeckia, ferns and summer phlox.

VEGETABLES

I often see garden plots with very crowded rows of vegetable seedlings. Without thinning these seedlings to allow room between each individual plant, the plants will be weak and spindley and the harvest will be disappointing.

Follow recommended spacing distances between plants for each crop. For example, green beans should be thinned to a 3 - 4 inch spacing, while lima beans grow larger and need 4 - 6 inches. Pole beans need about 6 inches between plants. If the plantlets are very large, and pulling would disturb their neighbors, thin by clipping the shoots off at ground level. Greens, like lettuce, collard and mustards, should be thinned several times until you get the final spacing. That way you can eat the "thinnings".

Store left over vegetable seeds in a sealed container in the refrigerator if you'd like to keep them for next season. A tablespoon of powdered milk wrapped in tissue can help absorb moisture to keep the seeds fresh.

For best growth and yield, make additions of nitrogen fertilizer (called side dressing) every couple of weeks, starting about a month after transplanting or seeding. This will keep vegetables growing vigorously so they reach their maximum yield potential.

PESTS

PROGRAMS