•Plant perennials, shrubs and trees using sphagnum peat moss, compost, or rotted manure mixed with the soil from the hole.  Use Fertilome Root Stimulator when planting and continue every two weeks for vigorous root growth.  

 •Fertilize roses using ½ cup Bone & Bloodmeal as growth begins; apply ¼ cup after the first blooms, then ¼ cup again in mid summer. Prune roses back to 12” from the ground (do not prune climbing roses now) and spread out the topsoil or peat used in winter to cover the base of the plant.

  •Plant bedding plants after April 20 when danger of frost is past. Warmer night temperatures will ease transplanting of tender annuals. Mix Mushroom Compost, Earthworm Castings, or Compost & Manure with the soil. Use Metro-mix potting mix to plant annuals in planters, pots, or in beds for vigorous growth.

   •Hang baskets of annuals after mid-April for colorful additions to porches, patios, and decks. Fertilize every week to two weeks using Fertilome Blooming & Rooting or All Purpose 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer, or Neptune’s Harvest Fish & Seaweed organic fertilizer for continual blooms and healthy growth all summer.    

    •Renew mums by dividing and replanting new shoots from around the edge of the plant. Transplant to a well-drained, sunny (5-6 hours) location using Compost & Manure and Bone & Bloodmeal mixed in the planting hole.

 •Sow grass seed in early April.  Use Fertilome New Lawn Starter or Milorganite fertilizer raked in the surface of the soil before seeding.  

  •Install plant supports now, especially “grow through” support grids, so taller perennials can grow through them for added stem support through summer. Use on peonies, coreopsis, cardinal flower, salvia, and other tall plants.

  •Prune azaleas and rhododendrons after blooming.  Fertilize these and hollies, dogwoods, magnolias, and evergreens with cottonseed meal to make the soil acid.  Use 1# cottonseed meal per foot of height for vigorous growth.

   •Repel moles from your yard by using Holy Moley castor oil granules on your lawn and flower beds.  They will not harm plants, animals, or beneficial organisms in the soil.  Make applications spring, summer, and fall.

 •Spread lime around the base of lilacs, clematis, sweet peas, pink hydrangeas, dianthus and phlox to promote a higher pH and better growth.  Do a soil test first in your garden or lawn to determine if lime is needed in these areas.

   •Clean water gardens removing winter debris, sludge, leaves, etc. from the pond. Pump out the bottom ¼ of the water, dechlorinate with TetraPond or Aquascape chlorine remover, and top off the pond with new water after the pond goes through its “spring green-up.”

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Calendar - April