FERTILIZING THE LAWN
Fertilizer can be applied to your lawns anytime now, so long as the soil isn't soft or muddy. As the nutrients work their way down to the
root zone, they will spur top growth.
Weather you prefer the organic or the inorganic lawn fertilizers available, they both accomplish the same thing as far as nutrient supply is concerned.
The advantages of the organic formulas are that they break down slower, and there are far less chances of ‘ burning ’ your lawn from an
accidental overdose or overlapping.
CRAB GRASS
Although you can't see it in your lawn now, it is there.....lying in wait. The way to control it is with an early application of pre-emergent
crabgrass control, either alone or mixed with fertilizer.
The pre-emergents should be applied to your lawn before mid-April, to halt the crabgrass seed from germinating in May.
PRUNING
Some trees such as maples, dogwoods, elm and birch should not be pruned or shaped at this time of the year.
It is best to wait until summer when they are in full leaf.
The reason for waiting is because the sap is active and pushing upward to spur this years new leaf development. When cut now, these trees will bleed freely.
If you haven't done so already, prune your shrubs that bloom in the late summer on the wood that will be
produced this summer, like Hydrangea, Buddleia (butterfly bush), and Rose of Sharons.
OUR FEATURED FRIENDS
If you want birds to make your garden their summer home, you must supply them with trees and shrubs for shelter, so they can
quickly take cover from marauders and predators.
Some other essentials include, water for bathing and drinking, shrubs and birdhouses for nest building, and a variety of
berry and of seed producing plants, in addition to a well stocked feeder.
A few of their favorite trees and shrubs include: apples, barberry, crabapples, dogwood, junipers, honeysuckle, lilac,
maples, mulberry, oaks, privet, and viburnums.
LEAVE THE LEAVES
A bulbs leaves are its own built-in food factory, responsible for replenishing the underground bulb with nourishment, as
it forms the new flowers for next year. When cutting bulb flowers, be sure to only cut off the flower stalk and not the leaves.
The bulb foliage should be allowed to remain until it dies and turns brown. Removing the spent flower heads (dead-heading), is
also a recommended practice for most bulbs.
APRIL WILDFLOWERS
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Adder's Tongue
Bloodroot
Buttercup
Carrion-flower
Catchfly
Dogwood
Dutchman's Breeches
|
Clovers
Columbines
Cinquefoil
Geranium
Hepatica
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Marsh Marigold
|
Meadow-rue
Solomon's Seal
Shooting Star
Trailing Arbutus
Trillium
Violets
Wood Anemones
|
.. |
That a rose cut early in the morning or in the cool of the early evening will last longer than those that are cut when the sun is up.