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April Gardening Tips

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April is here and it’s the ideal time for planting summer vegetables and flowers. Here’s a few April gardening tips for you. Keep in mind that those of you living in cooler zones might delay some of these tasks until May.

Begin planting summer annuals, bulbs and vegetables such as cucumber, melon and zucchini seeds. Transplant the potted tomatoes and peppers that you started earlier in the year towards the end of April or in early May. Gladiolus and Lilies can be planted now too.

If your plants have been frost damaged don’t cut them back just yet. They may look dead but given time the stems and branches may still prove to be alive. Wait until the end of the month watching for new growth or for the stems to green and perhaps you won’t have to prune very much.

Prune spring blooming plants once they have finished flowering. Plants that fall into this category include acacia, forsythia, philadelphus, lilac and viburnum.

April is the perfect month to reseed the lawn. The temperatures are still on the cool side and there’s usually plenty of rain. Apply grass seed over the lawn or in bare patches and then cover with a thin layer of top soil. Water twice a day if it’s not raining regularly. New growth should begin within about two weeks.

April is also the perfect month to apply mulch to your garden beds. Turn old mulch into the soil and apply a new layer that is about three inches thick. Mulch will help to keep the weeds down and will reduce water usage in the hot summer months.






Perennials that tolerate dry partly sunny conditions

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Looking for a perennial that’s fairly easy to care for, can grow in a dry area, partly sunny and that grows tall?

There are many plants that suit this description.

I find that the description “Part Sun” can be confusing. It’s very subjective as to what “Part Sun” is after all isn’t it? In my garden I have several areas that I could call part sun, but some are brighter than others, while some have more shade than sun. This means that when you are picking a plant that has a description of “part sun” in it’s care guidelines you might have to experiment a bit and see what does well and where.

In that vein – if the area that you’d like to plant your new perennial in has about six hours of sun that includes some noon hour sun, or if it’s sunny all afternoon you’d want to chose plants that take full sun. Some plants that fit this description would be the purple coneflower, caryopteris, hyssop or baptisia.

If the area only gets sun part of the morning, or early morning and late afternoon, or gets dappled sunlight throughout the day you’ll need to pick out a more shade tolerant plant.

Old fashioned bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis), large hostas, or Aruncus would work well in a shaded area.

All of the suggested plants should tolerate drier soil. However, you should pay attention to soil preparation prior to planting. Adding organic materials such as compost, or rotted leaves will help the soil stay moist longer. An organic mulch around the plants that is several inches deep, such as shredded cedar or orchid bark, will also help keep the soil moist.

Your local garden nursery or county extension should be able to suggest specific plants that should do well in your garden based on local conditions.

Re-use your Christmas Tree

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Do you still have your Christmas tree?

If you do, you might want to think about reusing it rather than putting it out on the curb for the garbage collectors to pick up. The Star Tribune, St. Paul Minneapolis has a great list of ideas for those who want to find ways to reuse their Christmas tree.

WINTER MULCH
Evergreen branches can be like a parka for your plants. “The branches help soil maintain an even temperature, and they will stay in place better than loose leaves or straw,” said Nancy Rose, a horticulturist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Just cut branches off the tree and pile them on plants that need protection.

FOR THE BIRDS
Your discarded Christmas tree can provide habitat and a feeding station. If you have a sheltered spot in your yard, simply lay the tree on its side or add it to a brush pile, then scatter birdseed around it, said Duluth ornithologist Laura Erickson. Or “plant” your old tree in a bucket filled with sand, then decorate with pine cones slathered with peanut butter.

TREE FOR ALL SEASONS
Get more mileage by repurposing your tree for other holidays. Tamara Belle-Isle said the artificial tree of her childhood stayed up through Easter, first decked with Christmas ornaments, then Valentines, then Easter decorations. George and Michelle Gold save their natural Christmas tree for Lent. They take it outside, cut off the branches, saw off a section of the top and make it into a cross.

BACK TO NATURE
You can compost your tree or, if you have access to a woodchipper, you can turn it into mulch. Evergreen chips can be used just as you’d use any wood chips, plus they smell good.

BURN IT — OR NOT?
Mary Granger’s Christmas tree comes down Jan. 2, is chopped into firewood and burned the following year while the new tree is trimmed. Old Christmas tree limbs can make good fire starters because they crackle and are aromatic. But burn with caution: Christmas trees are highly flammable, and they contain a lot of resin, which produces more creosote than hardwoods.

SPRUCING UP YOUR POTS
If you never got around to adding seasonal interest, here’s an easy, no-cost alternative to the ubiquitous spruce tips. Just cut off your Christmas tree branches and stick them in your pots. (Keep the Christmas-tree trunk, save it until spring and use it to stake tomato plants.)

TREE-MENDOUS TRELLIS?
OK, it’s not fancy but it’s functional. When propped upright in the garden, your old Christmas tree can provide a structure for morning glories, purple hyacinths or other climbing vines. A tree trellis lasts only a season, but you can’t beat the price.

Does anyone else have any other ideas of how a Christmas tree might be reused? List them in the comments area, lets build this list.

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