For gardening in April, don’t get too excited about planting things! Just because home improvement stores and garden centers have boatloads of plants out doesn’t mean that they are all ready to plant. They bring many plants indoors if a cold spell hits. Make sure you wait until after the last frost date to plant warm-season plants because any late cold spells could kill them off. Or at least the part most people care about – the flowers.
Planning
- Plan where you want to put any warm season annuals or bulbs when the time comes – mid to late April for most areas.
- If a perennial hasn’t been performing the way you want it to for a few years, dig it up and move it somewhere else or give it away. I had some gladiolus planted by the previous owner that wasn’t flowering well (and I didn’t have another place for), so I dug them up, put it on Nextdoor, and people were more than happy to get the bulbs.
Prepping
- Use a slow-release/granular fertilizer (10-10-10) when planting annuals, being careful not to get fertilizer directly on the plant (it will burn the plant if you do).
- Clip off any flowers of new plants before you plant them so that the plant can give its energy to developing a deeper root system rather than on sustaining flowers early on.
- Put in stakes or supports for plants that can flop over when they get taller (gladiola, peonies, dahlias,
- Mulch your beds with ~3 inch layer of mulch
- Mark where any current spring-flowering bulbs are so you’ll known where to fertilize in the fall.
- De-thatch or aerate warm season lawns after it is completely green and has been mowed several times
- Fertilize all lawns (cool and warm season grasses) this month
- Fertilize young shrubs and evergreen trees if you haven’t in previous months
- Wait to prune spring-blooming shrubs and trees until after they have flowered. Crape myrtle trees can be pruned now. See this post for how to do it!
Wait to prune spring-flowering trees until after they have finished flowering Mark or make note of where spring-flowering bulbs are to know where to fertilize in the fall
Planting
- Plant annuals after last frost date for your zone.
- Irises, lilies, crocosmia, and gladiolus bulbs can be planted this month
- After the last frost date, most vegetables and herb seeds and plants can be planted outside. This is the last month to sow cool season crops like cabbage, spinach, broccoli, kale, potatoes, onions, turnips, and beets.
- Shrubs should be planted this month, and trees can also be planted this month.
- Patch any cool-season lawns now, but wait to plant warm season lawns
Are you seeing flowers this month? What are you working on in your garden? I would love to hear from you!
Ugh! I wish I could be gardening. Every time the soil has enough time to dry out we get more rain. And today there is snow! I know this is what spring in Northern Utah should look like, but I’m getting impatient all the same!
It will come soon! Then all the tasks start to pile up!
I need to try my hand at gardening and growing some herbs soon for summer. Any recs on where to put an herb garden-like my kitchen windowsill or outside deck?
South facing windows are best! Herbs like a lot of sun, so any south-facing windows or outdoor areas will get the most sun.