PERENNIAL PLANTS should be set out this month so they may become established before hot weather sets in. Prepare beds using leaf compost or pine bark. Incorporate superphosphate before planting. Get surplus plants that your friends and neighbors have divided and taken out of their garden and set out now.
SUMMER BULBS can be planted in late April. This covers dahlias, gladiolus, tuberoses, fancy-leafed caladiums, elephant ears, amaryllis and cannas. Start digging and storing early flowering bulbs such as ranunculus and anemones as their foliage begins to yellow.
BROWN ROT OF PEACHES AND FIREBLIGHT OF APPLES AND PEARS are common diseases this time of year. Sprays should be applied during bloom.
SPOT ANTHRACNOSE OF DOGWOODS begins to show up now. A pro and post-bloom fungicide spraying is recommended. Keep the tree watered and fertilized well.
SPRAY ROSES every 7-10 days until frost, beginning with the onset of new growth.
AZALEAS & CAMELLIAS do best with 2 light fertilizer applications using organics or a special azalea product following spring bloom. Regular pruning, mulching and irrigation are a must to keep these plants flowering well.
SLUG HOTEL – Control slugs and snails using carbaryl and metaldehyde baits placed in empty plastic food containers. Keep the lid on and cut out 3/4 inch holes in the sides.
TRANSPLANT AZALEAS so you can match and group by color. They like some shade.
SPRAY – Red-tip photinia with Daconil or Bayleton fungicide for leaf spot problem; wooden homes and wooden lawn furniture for carpenter bees; iris beds for iris borers; azaleas for lacebugs.
KEEP WRITING in your garden diary.
AS YOU SET OUT YOUNG VEGETABLE PLANTS – cover them with the top half of milk jugs. This protects them from sun and wind burn.
MAKE A TEPEE TRELLIS from a sing stout wooden pole set firmly in the ground. Attach support strings three-quarters of the way around to form tepee framework. Plant edible-podded peas near string ends. Children love it.
MOW FESCUE LAWNS at 2 1/2 to 3” Summer grass lawns (Zoysia/bermuda) at 1/2 – 1 1/2″. Fertilize Zoysiagrass at this time.
STAKE growing peonies. Don’t worry about the ants.
WATCH OUT for late frost.
COMPOST BINS can be constructed. Equal parts by weight of grass clippings and leaves make a fine compost.
