FLORIDA

Caladiums
These colorful foliage plants are perfect to brighten shaded or partially shaded spots. They work well in flower beds and containers. You can even plant them in full sun if you choose the right selections. Ones that will tolerate full sun and still maintain good color include red types such as ‘Fire Chief’ and ‘Red Frill’; white ones such as ‘Aaron,’ ‘Candidum Jr.,’ and ‘Seagull’; and pink selections such as ‘Carolyn Whorton,’ ‘Rosebud,’ ‘Mrs. W.B. Haldeman,’ ‘Pink Gem,’ and ‘Lance Whorton.’ Purchase pots of caladiums and transfer to your garden for an instant effect. If you are a bit more patient, you can purchase bags of tubers and plant them. Use a slow-release granular fertilizer such as Dynamite All-Purpose 18-6-8 or Osmocote Plus 15-9-12 for months of steady, easy feeding.

Whole State
•Yellow African bulbine--It’s great to have a flower that can go a week or two between waterings. Yellow African bulbine (Bulbine frutescens), a flowering succulent native to South Africa, is very tolerant of dry, sunny sites and can thrive without lots of water once established. (Overwatering can actually cause problems.) Bulbine continuously produces an abundance of small, star-shaped yellow flowers (‘Hallmark’ has orange flowers) on numerous 2-foot-tall flower spikes. Cold-hardy and evergreen down to about 20 degrees, bulbine’s fleshy, slender, bright green leaves spread by rhizomes, producing a clump up to about 2 feet wide. The clump can easily be divided to form new plants. Few pests seem to bother the plant.
•Great Tool--Water your garden like the pros with a Rain Wand. Its aluminum extension and nozzle let you apply a shower of water to your plants and control the amount with an easy-grip shutoff handle. Ask for one at your nursery or garden center.

North and Central
•Lawns--If your grass was plagued by chamberbitter weed last summer, now is the time to take action. Chamberbitter has mimosa-like leaves and a line of round seed pods on the underside of the stem. Apply a pre-emergence herbicide such as Gallery (isoxaben) in early May. Gallery is safe for use on all warm-season lawn grasses when used according to directions. Ask for it at your local nursery.
•Flowers--Replenish your beds and containers with heat-tolerant flowers. Summer Wave Hybrid torenias will thrive as long as they receive a little protection from the harsh afternoon sun. Blue fanflower will tolerate hot, dry locations in full sun. For a little more height and good contrasting color, use orange crossandra. Central and South
•Citrus--Use a fertilizer such as Schultz Expert Gardener Citrus & Tropical Plant Food 10-4-10 to feed citrus this month.
•Palms--Feed palms again this month with a special palm fertilizer such as Vigoro Palm & Ixora Food 6-5-12 or Lesco 8-10-10 Palm and Tropical Ornamental Fertilizer.