May is a Pivotal Month for Gardeners!
With warmer soil, longer days, and the last frost behind us, May is the perfect time to prepare your garden. Clean up winter debris, seed or overseed your lawn, prep your beds, and refresh mulch to retain moisture and prevent weeds. As spring flowers fade, prune back spring-blooming shrubs and divide overcrowded perennials. These tasks will keep your garden healthy, colorful, and productive all summer long.
Plant with Purpose: Orchestrate a Season of Blooms
As you plan and plant this month, think beyond just the immediate moment, aim to create an orchestration of blooms that unfolds across the entire season. By choosing a mix of early, mid, and late-blooming plants, your garden will transform into a dynamic, living landscape that offers ongoing beauty and a consistent food source for pollinators from spring’s first thaw to autumn’s golden days.
Contact Xylem Designs for a free consultation today!
Early to Mid-May: Prepare & Plant
Seed Your Lawn
Timing: Early May
Why: Mild temperatures and spring rain create ideal conditions for grass seed to germinate and establish itself.
Tip: Choose a hardy, Minnesota-adapted seed blend and keep the soil consistently moist until it establishes.
Prepare Garden Beds for Planting
Timing: By May 15
What to Do: Clear out weeds, loosen the soil, and enrich it with compost.
Why It Matters: Well-prepared soil helps support strong root systems and better plant performance.
Plant cold-season vegetables
Timing: Early to Mid-May
What to Plant: Lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, radishes, peas
Tip: Use row covers to shield young plants from temperature dips and pests. Scroll down for more details by hardiness zone.
Maintain & Multiply
Prune Spring-Blooming Shrubs
Timing: Right after flowering
What to Do: Lightly shape shrubs like lilac, forsythia, and viburnum once blooms fade.
Why Now: Pruning too late can reduce next year’s flowers.
Divide Perennials
Timing: Mid-May, once growth resumes
Plants to Divide: Hostas, daylilies, coneflowers, bee balm, etc.
Why: Keeps plants vigorous, prevents overcrowding, and gives you more plants to share or replant.
refresh mulch
Timing: Mid to Late May
What to Do: Apply 2–3 inches of organic mulch around garden beds, perennials, shrubs, and trees.
Why: Mulch helps conserve soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds—making your garden more resilient heading into summer.
Tip: Keep mulch a few inches away from stems to prevent rot and pest issues.
Need help planning, planting, or maintaining your landscape this spring? Xylem Designs is your Minnesota-based partner in eco-conscious gardening. From thoughtful design to seasonal upkeep, we bring out the best in your space—naturally.
Book your spring consultation today and get growing with confidence.
Planting by Zone
Annual Flowers
Zone 3 (Northern MN): Plant hardy annuals like pansies and snapdragons in early June. Wait until mid-June for tender varieties like zinnias and marigolds.
Zone 4 (Central MN): mid to late-May is the time to plant warm-season annuals — zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, impatiens, and petunias will bloom beautifully all summer.
Zone 5 (Southern MN & urban areas): You’re already in the clear. Refresh containers, borders, and bare spots with summer-loving
Vegetable & Herbs
Herb Planting
Cool-season (parsley, cilantro, dill, chives): Plant in early May, all zones.
Warm-season (basil, oregano, thyme): Plant late May to early June, based on zone.
Vegetable Planting
Cool-season (peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, kale, carrots, onions): Plant early May, all zones.
Warm-season (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, beans): Plant mid to late May—earlier in Zone 5, later in Zone 3.
Perennials
Perennials can be planted any time in May across all Minnesota zones. Hardy and low-maintenance, they establish well in spring’s shifting weather. Top picks include Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, Daylilies, and Peonies, along with Astilbe, Hostas, Sedum, and Bee Balm for added color, texture, and pollinator appeal. May is an ideal time to plant or divide perennials for a strong, vibrant garden.
Contact Xylem Designs for a free consultation today!