My April Gardening Calendar

Gardening in April

My mid-spring garden to do list

Wow, it feels like I just finished writing the March gardening calendar, and here I am writing my April to-do list. Early spring is the season I get the most gardening questions, what can I cut back? Is it okay to transplant ____? Can I start these seeds?

April is the time of sunshine, daffodils, bunnies, and, oh yea, SNOW?!? It seems the last few years, we can't quite count on consistently warm days until mid-May. That is why it's important to respect the frost dates, which is the first week of May for our hardiness zone (6b). I love the longer days, and warmer temps April brings our way, and so do the weeds. Spring weeds love the cool soil and warm sunshine. Some of my spring archenemies are chickweed, bittercress, violets, henbit, and speedwell. They can take over in a hurry so April is the perfect time to focus on weeding and cultivating.

Anytime we have a new employee on the farm, like the good plant nerd I am, I like to hit them with gardening questions. One of my favorites is, do you know the difference between weeding and cultivating? Both terms are used interchangeably in the gardening world but mean different things.

Weeding is physically removing weeds after they are easily seen and large enough to pull by hand. Cultivating is disturbing the top layer of soil, loosening and aerating it. This does a few things; it interrupts the germination cycle of weeds before they become large enough to see and brings them to the surface, where they will die in the sun. It also allows airflow in the soil, which is helpful to any seeds or plants you want to grow in the bed. Loosening the soil also allows better water penetration, encouraging plant roots to grow deeper rather than staying on the surface as they will do when the soil is compacted. We focus most of our time on cultivation because this eliminates a lot of unnecessary weeding. Now, if you find weeding therapeutic, have at it. A pair of gardening gloves and a weeding knife is a lot cheaper than therapy...ask me how I know.

As many leaves as I think I rake in the fall, I always have piles of them still lying around the beds in the spring. My yard is filled with trees, and one task always on my list in April is to rake up any leaves brought down by the March winds. Another goal is to pick up sticks in my yard before my Dad tells me he is going to start mowing the grass. That man is like clockwork. I know it's coming within the next 10 days...AND yes, it's already done.

On the topic of lawns, now is an excellent time to fill in any bare spots in your grass. Grass seed loves warm days and cool nights to germinate. You need to gently rake the soil with a hard (garden) rake to rough up the soil; this allows the seeds to have good soil contact. It is recommended to continue watering the grass seed throughout the season to ensure it is well established. Now is the time to apply preemergent weed controls or fertilize your lawn. I go for the weediest yard on the street award, and I am sure I win every year.

Short story, about 5 years ago, I had a lawn company stop by when I wasn't home and give me a free assessment of my yard. They left a note with recommendations on how to improve my grass. The note said something along the lines of, 'You have no grass, very little hope for a full lawn, should start over.' After that, they must have given up because I never heard anything else from them.

Okay, back to my list.

To divide or not to divide is the question? A good rule of thumb is to divide the perennials in the opposite season they bloom. Dividing plants in the spring is good for the plants because they like to be divided when it is cooler outside. In addition, it reduces the transplant shock that some plants go through. Here are a few perennials you can divide now without affecting the blooms:

Hostas, daylilies, sedum, perennial grasses, ajuga, yarrow, monarda, catmint, fall anemone, garden phlox, ferns, and chelone.

If you have dahlia tubers, elephant ears, or other tender bulbs in storage, now is a good time to check for any rot or mold in preparation for planting in May. April is when I finish cleaning up perennials, cutting back grasses I didn't get to in March, and adding mulch or compost to my beds.

Now that I have your attention for a moment, I want to talk about Daffodils. If you have followed me for any time now, you have probably heard me go on this rant before.

When your Daffodils stop blooming, it is important to let the foliage naturally die back. What that means is that the leaves will turn completely brown on their own. Yes, this can take until almost June for some plants. Trust me when I say I know what it is like to want tidy landscape beds, but the bulbs will thank you. If you have your bulbs in the lawn then it’s easier to let them go and they will naturalize in the area. If they are planted in your landscape gardens, I use the trick of planting them around similar types of plants, such as Daylilies. As the Daylilies come up they hide the dying foliage of the Daffodils.

Apparently, some people (my Dad) dislike the look of the daffodil greenery, but the plant needs to have the foliage left on. Why? If it is cut off before it naturally dies back, the bulbs will not produce many blooms the following year. If this is done year after year, they will stop blooming completely.

Another public service announcement is to not fold over or tie off the Daffodil foliage. This creates mold and reduces airflow to the bulb. I know, I know you do it because your grandmother told you to, but I am giving you permission to stop making daffodil soldiers in your front yard.

Okay, moving on...

I promise I have a blog post coming soon, on Hydrangea pruning, but for a quick and dirty version, here is what you can prune now. Early spring is safe to prune your smooth or panicle hydrangeas, such as Annabelle, Limelight, and snowball bushes. These are okay to cut back anywhere from 8" to 3' from the ground.

If you like to grow warm-season annuals from seed, you can start them indoors now. Some of my favorites to start from seed are Snapdragons, Ageratum, Amaranthus, Celosia, and Basil. Sunflowers seeds are surprisingly hardy and can be planted as early as April 1st outside without the frost killing them. For the vegetable gardener, you can start herbs like chives, onions, thyme, and dill.

I love answering your questions so if I missed a topic or you have a burning question, drop it below, and I will do my best to answer it.

For the love of gardening and ourselves,