Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
Meeting The Needs Of Today With A Vision For The Future
May Weather
Average High Temperature: 68.5°F
Record High Temperature: 96°F (the 21st, 1977)
Average Low Temperature: 45.8°F
Record Low Temperature: 25°F (the 7th, 1966)
Average Precipitation: 3.39" inches
Maximum Precipitation: 7.82" (2004)
Minimum Precipitation: 0.59" (2005)
Average Snowfall: 0.1"
Record Snowfall: 2.1" (1996)
The average high temperature continues
its climb throughout the month, from 63°F on the 1st, to 73°F on
the 31st. More significant, however, is that by early May, average overnight
low temperatures have risen above 40°F. This means that it's time to
visit your favorite greenhouses and garden centers as they'll be
overflowing with colorful annuals, perennials and spring-flowering
shrubs!
Also, with rising overnight temperatures and daytime temperatures consistently in the sixties, soil temperatures are now above 50°F - which kicks the growth rate of most plant roots, and especially those of lawns, into overdrive!
This means that it'll be time to rev up your lawn mower and start mowing, and mowing, and mowing some more. In fact, mowing correctly throughout May (that is, cutting your lawn at a height of three inches and mowing whenever it reaches four inches tall), may mean mowing every third or fourth day!
Speaking of lawns, I don't recommend that you apply "weed 'n feed" products. It's either the best time to apply weed killers (herbicides), or the best time to apply fertilizer - and, the two times never overlap! The best time of year to apply lawn herbicides is in October, and the first application of lawn fertilizer shouldn't be made until Memorial Day weekend at the very end of May.