It’s April and things are getting busy! If you missed it, check out March’s Yard and Garden Goals, which also includes some lawn care.
1. Weather
Daytime temperatures are getting warmer, but nighttime temps can still be a bit chilly. So keep the frost cloth out and an odd assortment of towels, blankets, and buckets ready. We wait for the spring show in the garden all year, so it’s well worth the trip outdoors in the evenings to cover our precious plants. Frost cloth is the best way to prevent spring burn, but if you find yourself without it, upside-down containers, sheets (not your good ones), and blankets (again, the dog’s old blanket or such) work as well. If you can, purchase some frost cloth. It’s like buying a snow shovel… Buy it, and the snow (or frost in this case) won’t come! Either way, you won’t have to hang your best sheets over those prized peonies with your fingers crossed.
If there’s no time to cover, cut and bring it indoors for a quick bouquet; this one has beautiful hellebores.
2. Fertilize
Fertilizing is one of the keys to healthy plants. Now’s the time (if you haven’t yet) to fertilize those lovely azaleas, rhododendrons, mountain laurels, Japanese pieris, hydrangeas, camellias, or hollies with Espoma® Holly-tone. Follow the instructions on the bag. Use Rose-tone if you love your roses. Again, this is an important chore, so don’t skip it. And while the instructions can sometimes be daunting, don’t let them hang you up. Do it even if you simply sprinkle fertilizer around the root zone and water. Don’t starve your plants. This is the month.
3. Planting
Yes, you can plant now! The general rule of thumb is you can start planting when the soil can be worked and isn’t soggy. Trees, shrubs, early-blooming perennials (creeping phlox), and early-season vegetables (see below for links to vegetable planting guides) are okay to plant now. But what about fall? Isn’t that the best time to plant? Fall is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs since soil temperatures stay warmer than air temperatures for about six weeks, allowing roots to establish while plants go dormant. But spring is also a good time. Stagger your planting based on the plant, meaning don’t plant tender perennials and annuals now. Wait until after the chance of frost is past, but feel free to go ahead and get those hollies in the ground.
While planting, remember to amend the soil (do a 50/50 mix of native soil and amendment) and use Espoma® Bio-tone for a good root starter. Bio-tone contains mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungus that extends the plant’s roots. Be sure to root prune, (remove any broken or diseased roots), and then tease the roots out to look like the spokes of a wheel before going into the ground. The first job of the roots is to anchor the plant, so establishing a healthy root system is crucial.
Watering is the second part of planting correctly, and while spring often brings showers, watering is still essential to help roots get established. Invest in a good rain gauge. If the garden gets an inch of water a week, the gardener doesn’t have to water it. If it doesn’t, get out the hoses. Here’s the care guide for watering and fertilizing plants.
Don’t forget the deciduous azaleas mixed in with your evergreen ones. They’re perfect for a bold spot of color.
4. Veggies
Keep the vegetable garden producing by planting potatoes, onions, beets, chard, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Start another batch of cool-season lettuces to allow for a longer harvest.
Here are the charts for what to plant and when:
5. Prune
Prune spring-flowering shrubs like azaleas, forsythias, lilacs, and weigela after the flowers fade. Always prune out dead or damaged wood in your shrubs to avoid pests or diseases infesting the wounded/dead area. Prune spring-flowering trees like cherry trees again after the flowers fade. To be safe, if it blooms, prune after it blooms. This applies to all shrubs and trees.
6. Clean Up & Mulch
Clean up the beds nearest the house first and work your way out. Remove matted leaves, and cut back perennials hanging on from last year. Be on the lookout for these insect pests: azalea-lace bug, boxwood-leaf miner, euonymus-scale, hemlock, and juniper-spruce mites. Treat as needed. Weed beds first, then apply two to three inches of mulch. Get more information on mulching.
A male eastern bluebird has chosen a nesting box.
7. Pollinators and Wildlife
Consider building bluebird boxes in the garden or adding bird feeders (perhaps the squirrel-proof kind?) because who doesn’t love the stunning color of the bluebird or the sound of chirping in the garden?
And, if you don’t know how to grow a pollinator garden, we made it easy for you. Click here for a pollinator garden design to follow. Bonus, the plan is downloadable!
8. Hold Off on Taking Those Tropicals Outside
As much as we’d love the extra space indoors, wait before letting your tropicals spend the night outdoors. Moving them out on a warm day and returning them indoors at night is fine. It helps your plants adjust slowly to their new environment. But night temperatures need to be 55 and above for your indoor plants to camp outdoors overnight.
9. Don’t Cut Back the Spring-Blooming Bulbs
Wait until the leaves have turned yellow. It may be unsightly, but by the time the leaves are yellow, the June flowers are starting to pop, and you’re the only one who notices those yellowing leaves, we promise.
And if you’re inclined to braid those leaves, we advise not to! The daffodil foliage manufactures food for the plant in order for the daffodils to bloom the following spring. Tying the leaves together with rubber bands or braiding the foliage reduces the leaf area exposed to sunlight. As a result, the leaves manufacture smaller amounts of food. Plus, tying or braiding the foliage is a time-consuming chore.
Okay, you have plenty to do. Off you go. July will be here in a blink.
