RHS diary: what to do in the garden in May

This is your last chance to insert plant supports, stakes and string and netting in herbaceous borders, before tall plants flop during wind and rain.
Hang pheromone traps in apple trees to indicate when to spray against codling moths.
Net strawberries to prevent damage by birds, and place straw or Mypex mats around the fruiting plants to prevent soil-splash damage to the developing fruit in wet weather.
Continue to remove weeds before any of them flower and set seed. Pay particular attention to weeds such as hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) that can flower and seed on plants just 2cm high. Read More