April Monthly Gardening Guide

In April, everything is growing and the lawn and garden are starting to need some real attention.

The amount of spring garden work that looms between now, May and June can seem daunting. But that’s why monthly organization and planning are so helpful.

To just get started with this April guide, look through the categories for your areas of interest, and then plan what and when you're going to do things.

Another great thing to do is to check through the March guide for indoor and outdoor activities you may still want to get done, such as a lawn mower tuneup, raking away piles of dead leaves from the junipers and fertilizing perennials.

Do a little or a lot each month, but choose what's most important to you. Then, it's easier to budget and schedule those activities.

And you'll have more fun doing it, because you won't feel like you need to do "everything." Remember to save time for getting out the lawn furniture and firing up the grill for the first time this season!

Check out the table of links below with lots of free information about growing zones, plants and planting information, all provided by the USDA. There's also a link to the National Weather Service, so you can keep an eye on your local forecast for planning your garden work.

Now for the April tips.

INDOORS

Starting seeds

• See the Starting Seeds detailed guide on this site. Also check out the simple instructions for creating an Indoor Greenhouse to give your seeds a jump start and perfect growing conditions. Small, easy to build and inexpensive setup.

• Keep an eye on seedlings. Make sure they're getting adequate light. If they are leaning or falling over, they need stronger light for more hours per day. Don't let the soil dry out or seedlings can die quickly. Feed with a 20% solution of liquid plant food when they are about two inches tall and have one set of true leaves.

• Toward the end of April, you can "harden off" some seedlings, such as marigolds, pansies, ageratum and others by putting them outdoors for a few hours at a time over a week to 10 days. This accustoms the little plants to outdoor conditions before they go in the ground. But don’t try it before seedlings are mature enough to survive — at least 3 inches tall - and never put them outside in inclement or cold weather.

• Go seed shopping. Look at the numerous online nursery and seed stores. And seeds should be available locally at many retail outlets by April.

Here is a list of some to start indoors in April.

• To help fire your imagination, visit our Flower Photos section.

Houseplants

OUTDOORS

April Lawn Care

There's a separate page on April Lawn Care that has some additional information from what's contained here, but to get you started, read through this list:

• You have a limited window of time in which to have success with pre-emergent weed control at this point. It should be done in the early spring and spring. In most zones this is from mid-March until about late April, possibly early May. The reason is that pre-emergent chemicals only work on weed seeds, stopping them from sprouting. Conversely, a weed-and-feed formula only kills weeds that are already growing. You will apply that next month.

• Important: DO NOT apply pre-emergent weed controls if you have put down new grass seed or new sod.

• Fertilize established lawns with a regular, all-season fertilizer this month. If you have re-seeded or are starting a new lawn in April, apply a lawn-starter food but not regular fertilizer, which is too strong and will damage the tender grass sprouts.

• In general, spring is not the time to overseed an old lawn or start a new lawn, unless absolutely necessary. If you must start a new lawn in April, or you are repairing an old lawn, sod provides the best results. If you are facing a big lawn-replacement project, consult a professional for advice.

• To fill in small bare spots, prepare the soil and broadcast seed or apply seed patch material. Do not allow these areas to dry out. Keep well watered, even with the rain, until new grass is well established. Be careful mowing newly established grass patches until they are established.

• If you are laying new sod, keep it well watered, cut out weeds and mow it about 2 inches high, as needed, until June first. Then, you can start mowing sod with the blade at 3 inches high – usually the highest setting.

• Do not fertilize zoysia in April. It is dormant in most zones now. However, you should mow zoysia lawns short for their first cutting of the season. Do this about mid-April, and then continue mowing zoysia short, at about two inches, through the growing season.

• After mid-April, you may apply controls for white grubs and mole crickets. This can also be done in May, June or July.

• You may aerate ("plug" or "core") an established lawn this month. This gives mature grass plants some air and growing space. It’s best done with a machine, which can be rented.

• During normal mowing, if grass is very long, collect the clippings. If it is not too long, mulch the clippings with a mulching lawnmower.

• If you haven’t done it yet, get a lawn mower tune-up! You may have to wait longer at this time of year, because of the demand on service shops, but it’ll be worth it.

Annuals

• Annual flowers and bedding plants should not be set in the ground until after all danger of frost has passed. But there are some annuals that can tolerate a light frost: pansies, marigolds, bachelor buttons, larkspur, sweet pea, alyssum and nasturtium. Try starting these from seed outdoors. But REMEMBER: even these plants may succumb to an unexpected cold snap.

• Prepare flowerbeds by removing winter debris and pushing aside old mulch so you can work the soil. Loosen soil with a pitchfork or spade, working it into a fine, smooth consistency, free of lumps. Mix in soil amendments, compost and fertilizer.

• Wait to put down fresh, new wood mulch until after beds are planted.

• In late April, you may plant dahlias and gladiolus—which are tender perennials and don’t survive winters well in central and northern zones.

• In areas that you don’t intend to plant—at least not for 60 to 90 days—or where you want to retard weed growth, apply a topical weed preventer, such as Preen.

April Tips for Bulbs

• Feed iris (which can be from bulbs or rhizomes), daffodils, crocus, tulips, hyacinth and any bulbs that have not yet bloomed. Fertilizing now doesn’t help blooms this year, but the bulbs will use the food to make next year’s flowers. Bulb roots start dying when the bloom appears. So, to feed next year’s flowers, feed before this year’s blooms appear.

• After spring bulbs bloom, remove spent flowers and stems. Do not remove foliage from bulbs. Let it die down naturally. The foliage continues feeding the bulb for next year’s blooms.

• You can plant myosotis bulbs in April. Plant in groups in a place where they can spread.

April Perennials Tips

• Many perennials can be started outdoors in April, with bulbs, rootstock or seed. (A more complete list is found below under Dividing and transplanting.)

• Apply an acidifying fertilizer (Mir-Acid) to azaleas and rhododendrons.

• Remove winter protections, such as mounds of soil, compost or leaves from rose bushes and from around the base of the plants. Inspect plants and remove dead ones. Replace with new, healthy ones.

• Plant new roses now, if your region is in the growing season. Make the new rose plants will get at least six hours of sun each day. Plant them at two feet apart and at least three feet from any structure, so they get proper air circulation. After planting, give them rose food, a systemic insecticide and apply a fungicide.

• On established roses, prune old, damaged or diseased canes from mid-April until early May. Heavier pruning produces better specimen flowers, but fewer flowers. Fertilize with rose food and water deeply. Keep any eye out for insect pests and disease. Apply a systemic insecticide—which will deter biting and sucking insects—along with a fungicide. Ask experts at your garden center.

• Feed peonies and inspect for signs of disease, including blight. (See Pests section.) If you see ants on the peonies, don’t be too concerned. They don’t eat the peonies or even damage the blooms, which are forming now. If you don’t like the ants, treat peonies with the proper chemical. This will also help keep away some of the small spiders commonly found hiding in peony flowers. If you didn’t remove the old peony tops last fall, do it now. Cut them off below the soil and discard, but be careful not to disturb the growing crowns, which are putting up shoots now.

• Peonies are best transplanted in the fall, but rootstock can be planted in April or May, as well. Remember to plant shallowly. The “eyes” of the roots must be near the soil surface.

• Feed clematis now. Water deeply and frequently. Make sure the roots will remain cool in hot weather. Cover the soil around the base of the plant with deep mulch.

• Feed delphinium. Watch for leaf spot, root rot and crown rot diseases. Treat as needed.

• The garden is just beginning to bloom now. Here are some perennials to look for in your garden:

April Tips for Dividing and Transplanting

• Divide clumps of hostas (a.k.a. plantain lily, funkia) now, before the shoots are more than 3 inches tall. New hosta stock can also be transplanted now.

• Divide daylilies in April, or transplant rootstock.

• Divide and transplant clumps of hardy aster. Also plant rootstock, if you got it from a nursery or by mail order. Thick hardy asters should be divided every two years or so.

• For fast-growing varieties of hardy chrysanthemums, this is the time to dig up and divide large plants. Separate the roots into smaller pieces with one to three shoots. Replant these separately. For slow-growing varieties, leave plants undisturbed for two or three years.

• Remove the suckers from hardy chrysanthemums. Those are the small new plants that grow from the main roots at the base of the plant. Transplant them in seed-starting medium indoors or outdoors in a protected area. By the middle of May, they should be ready for the garden.

• Here are some other perennials and biennials (plants that produce foliage the first year, blooms and seeds the second year) that can be seeded, divided or transplanted in April.

April Tips on Pests and Diseases

• Examine roses and apply a systemic insecticide. This goes into the soil and is absorbed by the plant, and makes it unappetizing to biting and sucking bugs. Also apply a fungicide. Ask experts at your garden center for these products.

• Inspect peonies for signs of blight. This causes young stalks to wilt and fall over, buds to turn black and dry up, and other buds turn brown, so that plants fail to produce flowers. If you had trouble with blight on peonies last year, apply a preventative to the plant crowns as soon as they emerge.

• Watch iris for signs of borers—chewed leaf edges and slimy trails. Apply chemical controls as needed, usually for three consecutive weeks. These applications should be finished before the plants bloom.

• While preparing flowerbeds or digging anywhere in the garden, watch for white grubs and cutworms. Apply treatment for these pests now.

• Apply diatomaceous earth or other controls, such as slug pellets, to deter slugs and millipedes.

• Look for signs of juniper midge—small gnats with orange abdomens that begin appearing in April and May. Apply spray, usually in the last week of April.

• Watch for cutworms on pansies. Treat as needed.

• Diseases or insects, such as borers may attack lilac shrubs. Look at the base of the shrub for signs of “sawdust” that borers create. Also look at the stems for signs of scale. Another disease that attacks lilacs is powdery mildew. Apply treatments as needed. Cut out heavily infested branches. Discard them—not in the compost pile.

• In mid- to late April, spray any trees affected by cankerworms. Spraying now will kill the eggs.

• Watch for signs of sawfly on pine trees and apply controls.

Pruning

• Check the type of clematis you have before pruning it. On some types, you must not prune last year’s woody growth, which is what will produce this year’s flowers. Consult a gardening book or ask an expert.

• Prune trees as needed to remove winter damage. Cut off broken or dying limbs, taking care not to injure trees further. Be sure to seal pruning wounds with paint or some pruning product to keep diseases and pests from attacking the vulnerable area.

• Examine shrubs for winterkill—limbs damaged by snow, ice or severe cold. Carefully prune out dead and weakened wood.

• NEVER top cut a tree. The utility companies are often guilty of this, but you should avoid it in your own yard. Top cutting means giving a tree a “buzz cut,” that is, lopping off the growing ends of top branches. This is NOT the proper way to trim a tree. Refer to gardening books or consult an arborist or a lawn service for questions about pruning trees. Take care especially in pruning fruit trees, large shade trees, ornamental trees. ALWAYS be careful when working on any tree that has limbs on or near power or telephone lines. Professionals are best used here.

• These shrubs may be cut to the ground now: buddleia, mallow, desmodium, vitex and beautyberry. They will regenerate and produce new, strong growth and blooms. Mature spirea also may be severely pruned to encourage new growth.

• Hydrangea, altheas and cotoneaster may be pruned now.

• Forsythia, winter honeysuckle and other early blooming shrubs may be pruned as soon as they have finished blooming.

• If the flowering buds on any shrubs have been killed by cold weather, they may be trees a pruned now.

April Tips on Garden Tools

• Do a tool and equipment inventory. The idea is to find them before you need them. If you’re a new gardener and don’t have many basic tools, here is a brief list (in no particular order:

Buddleia	Althea	Vitex
Dogwood	Red Bud	Magnolia
Tulip Tree	Birch	Sweet Gum
Ginkgo	Hawthorn	Desert Willow

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April Tips on Watering

• Consistent moisture is always important for a successful and healthy garden. Gardens need about one inch of rain per week. If a week or more passes without rain, get out the hose. Watering is especially important for new transplants of any kind.

• If you have spread grass seed or laid a grass-patch material in parts of the lawn, these must be kept watered daily, except during rain. Do not allow the soil to dry out between rainfall and waterings.

• A large and a small watering can will be of great use throughout the spring and summer months to water container plants, small new plantings, to fill the birdbath, or to do small waterings without dragging the hose out. Make sure they have “sprinkler” heads, so the water doesn’t come rushing out of the spout in a harsh stream, which could damage tender plants and wash away soil and mulch.

April Tips on Birds

• If you like, continue feeding the birds this month. Migrating species are returning. They are nesting and need the nutrition, plus food will draw the songbirds and colorful species that are fun to watch. And remember: they eat bugs.

• If you are having trouble with “nuisance birds,” such as grackles, magpies, cowbirds and blackbirds, definitely don’t put out a birdfeeder or food of any kind. Many of these birds travel in flocks and nest in groups this time of year. If they find food in your yard, that’s where they will stay. Also, to shoo these pesky, aggressive birds away from the house and garden, you can foil their nest-building activities. Knock down or remove their construction work whenever you see them at it. They’ll soon go elsewhere.

• Put out birdhouses in April. Cardinals nest in bushes and thickets, but bluebirds, wrens and finches prefer little houses. Attach them securely to trees or poles and in places where predators cannot easily reach.

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Miscellaneous Tips for April

• Watch out for late frosts or cold snaps in April, and be prepared to cover any tender annuals you have set out already. Cover perennial shoots with a sheet or a tarp. Don’t use plastic sheets, which will not provide protection. An upside down bucket or other container can also be used on taller plants. For large perennial beds, such as peonies, set stakes in the ground to hold up the protective cover. High winds or the weight of the covering could break off peony buds or damage shoots that are several inches high.

• Take a gardening class. Many places – garden centers, nurseries, community colleges and county extension offices – offer spring classes in gardening. The classes are free or have small costs, and most last only one or two sessions.

• Take photos of the garden and lawn in this season, when plants are small and some have yet to surface. This can start a yearlong album, which will help you plan and will also show clearly the fruits of your labor.

It’s a good time to start a garden journal, if you haven’t already. Record rainfall, temperatures and other conditions. Make notes about what you plan this year, and when. Write down questions for the gardening experts and whatever else you want to address as the season goes on.

• Also, if you haven’t yet begun a 12-month gardening calendar and a gardening budget and an overall garden plan, these can be done this month. (See the Planning a Garden link on the Home Page.) A gardening budget, especially, will be helpful as you go into the very busy and potentially expensive planting season.

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