FINALLY! April is here! I am, like so many of you, eager for spring and warm weather to be here regularly, especially after the winter we just experienced. With April, we are bursting with gorgeous fresh plants, lots of blooming annuals, beautiful containers, and garden supplies for all of your spring planting projects.
BELOW ARE SOME GARDENING TIPS AND CHORES FOR APRIL
Just to let you know, I did a soil temperature test, and we are sitting at 55 degrees as of April 1st. This soil temperature is important to know because, even though the calendar says April, it is still too early to plant some things until our soil temperature is warmer. Keep in mind that our average last frost date for our area is around the 20th of April. A couple of years ago, we had a frost on May 4th. Let’s hope for the best and that we have our last frost earlier than the 20th of April.
- I would suggest delaying moving tropical houseplants outdoors until closer to May. These tropical plants are best with temperatures no lower than 50 degrees.
- If you are considering growing your own vegetables, herbs, or fruit this spring, then keep in mind that all these plants require a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight in order to grow well.
- If you have not done so already. Many of our evergreen shrubs – hollies, azaleas, hydrangeas, and others need to be fed now – especially after the cold winter they experienced this year. They need help as they begin to grow and put out new leaves.
- The month of April is one of the best months’ of the year for planting perennials.
- As for pruning – many of our evergreen shrubs look terrible – with dried leaves. My Carissa Hollies look awful right now. But, I am waiting to see new growth first before doing any pruning.
WE HAVE SOME NATIONAL GARDENING ACTIVITIES THIS MONTH
- APRIL 14 – NATIONAL GARDENING DAY – A day of encouragement to get outside and do some planting
- APRIL 22 – EARTH DAY – Consider planting more of our native plants.
- APRIL 24 – NATIONAL ARBOR DAY – The theme this year is “TREES ARE OUR FRIENDS”. Trees make us happy, healthy, and relaxed.
ENJOY APRIL & PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS