Gardening chores to do soon

•As daffodils and other bulbs’ early spring blooms fade, remove the flowers but leave the foliage intact. While still green, those leaves nourish next year’s flowers. Remove the leaves only after they turn yellow or brown, which can take several weeks or more.

•Snowdrops and squills can be transplanted or divided after they bloom but before the leaves disappear entirely in late spring. Select a spot where these early-blooming bulbs will get the sun before deciduous trees leaf out.

•May is a good month to plant perennials and to move or divide perennials that bloom in summer or fall. Those that flower in spring may be moved after they bloom.

•To reduce crowding that can contribute to powdery mildew this summer, pinch out all but the five strongest stems of garden phlox.

•Prune forsythia after the flowers decline.

•Buy dahlias. To encourage earlier flowers, these summer-blooming tubers may be potted and started indoors, then set out into the garden later this month or in early June, after soil and air temperatures warm.