What’s Blooming In April?

Pineapple

Cherry Laurel

Broccoli

Daffodils

April Maintenance Tips

Fertilizing needs this month:

• Lawns will begin to come out of dormancy this month but they will not be ready to be fertilized with nitrogen until they are fully out of dormancy
• You can tell that your lawn is fully out of dormancy if it begins to appear more green that it did in the winter and if it starts growing tall enough for mowing the lawn to be necessary 

Pruning needs this month:

• Plants that can be pruned as their blooms fade:
  • Camellia
  • Daphne 
  • Forsythia
  • Loropetalum 
  • Viburnum 
  • Blueberry bush 

Pests and diseases to look out for this month:

• Carpenter ants – can cause serious damage to wood structures (like a garden bed or planter) – create a perimeter of insect killer around your garden beds
• Mosquitoes – can make gardening unbearable – make your garden a hostile environment for mosquito eggs and larvae by eliminating standing water and treating your garden with a strong larvicide 
• Camellia leaf gall – infects camellias and azaleas by producing spores and dry out the leaves to create a leaf visibly covered in white spores, eventually turning brown and falling off the plant – this is more of a cosmetic issue rather than a threat to the health of the plant – the best treatment is to remove the infected leaves by hand picking them and disposing of them far away from your garden to avoid the spread of this fungus 

Additional April Monthly Tip:

Great time for planting warm season crops like like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, and okra 

Upcoming events:

Easter is right around the corner! Here are some fun spring activities that will help your garden thrive that you can do this Easter:

Plant bulbs or seeds

Make a bird feeder

Make a bug hotel