April Checklist of Gardening Tasks April 23rd, 2017

Gardening Checklist for April

• Irrigation controller Normally I would say it should be set to 75% but in 2017 I have yet to turn mine on by mid-late April because the rains keep coming.
• Roses: Apply mulch to save water, smother weeds, and keep soil cooler. Spread 1 to 3 inches (depending on size of plant) of bark chips, compost, wood shavings, or other organic material. Leave a circle of bare soil around the plant’s base.
• Blast aphids off plants with a jet of water from a hose. If infestations are heavy, spray with insecticidal soap.
• Divide Your Perennials — Divide perennials that will bloom in the summer or fall once they’ve sent up significant foliage at least a couple inches tall. (Wait to divide spring-blooming perennials after they bloom.)
• Lawns: Renovate weak lawns by aerating and over seeding/reseeding the lawn late this month.
• Summer flowering bulbs- plant summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladiolus and lilies. Mix bulb fertilizer, processed manure and peat moss into the planting soil.
• Plant summer blooming annuals- Start vegetable garden. Plant perennials and some cooler season vegetables such as, radishes, carrots, lettuce, spinach, beans etc. Warmer season vegetables should wait until next month
• Evergreen pruning – The months of March, April and May are ideal for pruning Evergreens. So if you have a juniper, conifer or cypress that needs shearing or pruning this is a good time to accomplish this task. Keep your pruning cuts within the green (foliage) parts of the plant. If you cut back into bare branches it is sometimes difficult or impossible for the plant to re-grow from the old growth.Also the best time to prune your citrus after you have harvest all the fruit and just before the next set of blooms come out.
• Mulch: the soil has warmed up enough that you can apply a 3-4” layer of well composted mulch on flower beds and around trees and shrubs. It reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and prevents disease.
• Weed: Ensure the season starts out with a clean area – Weeds are easier to pull when the ground is somewhat moist so take advantage of the late season rains and make sure those weeds are cleaned out.