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April Garden Guide What to plant, prune, fertilize and water this month.
PLANT THIS! Expanded list of what to plant this month.
Cindy McNatt
Garden writer
(714) 796-5023
Spring has officially sprung and now is the time to get all your garden chores done that you did not complete in October.
Plant the last of your permanent landscape plants. Get dormant lawns such as Bermuda and St. Augustine up and growing and green. Shop for perennials, annuals and summer vegetables.
Try something new - a new perennial, a new type of ornamental grass, or a new technique such as composting. Be sure to set aside time to attend the numerous talks and tours and see private gardens up close.
PLANT
Warm-season annuals
Permanent landscape plants
Perennials
Trees
Citrus
New lawns
Summer vegetables
Summer vegetables
April is traditionally the time to let winter vegetables wane and plant summer favorites such as peppers, tomatoes, corn and melons.
But don't forget beans, beets, carrots, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, leaf lettuce, lima beans, parsley, peppers, pumpkins, radishes and squash.
Vegetables growing in the same spot year after year deplete the soil of certain nutrients and invite pests to settle in. Try crop rotation. Crop rotation means to swap growing locations - plant your carrots where you grew corn last year, or put your tomatoes where your turnips were.
PINCH, PRUNE & DIVIDE
Deadhead flowering plants for continuous blooms
Leave foliage on spent bulbs until it turns brown
Set lawnmower blades at 3 inches
Mow grass twice a week for the best-looking lawn
Mowing: Homeowners who experience the pangs of lawn envy might try mowing their grass twice a week. Some turf types such as fescue grow quickly in warm spring weather. Removing two-thirds of the height in a single mowing stresses your lawn and causes tip browning. For a really luscious look, set the mower blades high and mow twice a week. Remove the catch basket and let the teeny-tiny lawn clippings fall on the lawn
Bright green lawn grass provides an organic form of nitrogen that feeds your lawn while mulching to keep the root area cool in the summer.
FERTILIZE
Camellias
Azaleas
Roses
Lawns
Citrus
Camellias and azaleas are two plants that bloom while they are dormant. After the flowers fade, new growth begins and it's time to feed these shrubs with a granular fertilizer designed just for them.
Be gentle. Both shrubs have delicate feeding roots right below the soil surface. Do not dig in dry fertilizers with a trowel. Instead massage dry foods into the soil with your hands and follow with a deep soak. For the best flowers next fall and winter, feed again in the summer, and for the third and last time in the fall.
PESTS & DISEASE
Control snails and slugs
Watch for aphids on roses
Pull weeds while they're small
Aphids: As much as you dislike these soft-bodied bugs, it is excessive to use strong pesticides for aphids. Dont forget that pesticides kill good bugs too, such as lady beetles.
Aphids are sucking insects that attack new growth in spring, but especially like the new red growth on roses. They are easily eliminated with a blast of water from the hose.
With a hose in one hand, use your fingers to gently rub off any remaining aphids that the water doesnt wash away.
Answer:
Here's a few more reccomended tasks for your April perennial gardening (from weather.com)....
• Start pulling back mulch from perennials and remove winter mulches as new growth emerges; be careful not to snap off the new shoots.
• Order perennial and summer bulbs.
• Replant any perennials that have been heaved out of the soil by frost and consider covering them with a light mulch such as pine boughs.
• As spring garden plans take shape, have the soil tested and amend as directed. Generally, soil should be amended a few months before planting begins.
• Mulch perennial beds after the soil has begun to warm to keep roots cool and weed growth down.
• If you cannot resist transplanting perennials while they are leafed out, do so on an overcast day or late in the afternoon. Shade them from direct sun for a few days. If the perennial has fleshy roots or a taproot, wait until fall or early spring.
• Clean up dead foliage in early spring, cutting back plants to several inches, and removing plant debris.
• Replant any perennials that have been heaved out of the soil by frost and consider covering them with a light mulch such as pine boughs.
• When purchasing perennials, try to buy them while not in bloom, unless you need to see the flower color. Look for compact healthy growth and a vigorous root system that is not pot-bound.
• Fertilize perennials as new growth emerges. Stop fertilizing in mid-summer.
• Plant perennials that begin new growth in bulb beds to screen fading bulb foliage. Good examples are Sedum, Helenium, and Eupatorium.
• Newly planted perennials should receive one inch of water a week during the growing season, either from rain or through irrigation.
• Fall and spring are the best times to plant most perennials in Zones 6 to 10.
• Established perennials usually do not need supplemental watering. However, if they start to wilt before noon, give them a deep soaking.
• Fertilize newly planted perennials with a slow-release fertilizer, in spring or fall.