Aberdeen Florist & Garden Center

Gardening Tips for April

OK, all you spring-loaded gardeners, this is the month to let it rip! This is probably the busiest month for gardening endeavors, and no surprise, there’s so much to do, and so little time. With a little organization and elbow grease, it will all fall into place.

Spring flowering bulbs, crocus, daffodils, tulips, and others will be finishing up in the next few weeks. Remove spent blooms, leaving foliage to go dormant naturally. Feed with a balanced flower food to allow the foliage to gather nutrients. As the leaves turn yellow, they send food back to the bulb, and the buds are formed for next year. By June, the tops will be dry, and can be easily removed, as they will have served their purpose in restoring the bulb. If bulbs are to be lifted and moved before next season, place a marker in the ground, so you’ll know where to dig. Daffodils can continue to bloom for years without attention, but tulips, crocus and hyacinths will benefit from raising them in early fall every two to three years. In sandy soils, bulbs tend to work themselves deeper each year, and will get so deep that they will cease to bloom.

Garden centers abound with tempting displays of annual and perennial plants this month. Before shopping, make some notes on the size of your planting spaces and the amount of sun exposure. Think about the color patterns you want to achieve. Plant labels will give you lots of information, and local vendors have knowledgeable staff to assist you in making wise choices. Think about changing your choices from year to year. Planting vinca or begonias in the same bed every year may not be the best idea. Think about the farmer who practices “crop rotation”. Each variety of plant requires different components from the soil, and may leave it’s own pathogens behind from year to year. Changing to a completely different variety of plant will eliminate problems from nutrient depletion, and lingering pathogens will dissipate when they cannot find a favorite host.

Proper soil preparation is essential for success. Half of the plant is in the soil, and the soil is its dinner plate. For most plants, the soil should be loose and arable. The addition of healthy organic compost provides microorganisms that convert elemental nutrients to a form that is easily used by tender feeding roots. There should be spaces in the soil for air and water, and particles that bind nutrients and prevent leaching. If you have been composting from your kitchen and lawn cleanup, you have a fantastic source of organic matter to add. If not, consider adding mushroom compost before planting. No plant, regardless of its quality at planting time can flourish without great soil. This is no place to skimp. A properly prepared bed will pay off later in the season.

Professional growers talk a lot about avoiding plant stress. Each time a plant wilts, it looses some of its potential. It may perk up when watered, but some damage is done to its immune system. It becomes more susceptible to disease, and infestation of insects. Stress may also come from poor drainage. Tiny feeder roots which are constantly under water may begin to rot, and fail to support the upper portions of the plant. Thought should be given to providing adequate moisture through out the growing season. In most cases, watering should be done just before the point of wilt. For established flowerbeds, slow deep watering is ideal. Irrigation should come from ground level drip tubes, rather than sprayed over the top of the plants. Water on the leaves and blooms in the sun can cause spotting. The tops of the plants should never be wet at the end of the day, as bacteria and molds may form. When water is applied, it should run long enough to wet the soil to a depth of 6”. Avoid frequent, shallow watering that encourages roots to form near the surface, subjecting them to damage as the surface dries out. Deep watering encourages deep rooting and stronger, stress resistant plants. Mulching plants will slow evaporation and discourage weeds that steal water and nutrients.

Give some thought to the types of plants that will best meet your expectations. The controversy over annuals or perennials persists. Lets look at the pros and cons of each. Typically, annuals mature and provide color from spring until the first frost. They include vinca, marigolds, begonias, impatiens, petunias, zinnias, and celosia to name a few. They are less expensive for masses of color. Breeders have made tremendous improvements in strains available. Plants grown from seed are now more uniform, and perform better than they did a generation ago. Varieties are selected for larger and more durable blooms, more heat tolerance, and for a wider variety of colors.

Perennials remain in place for several years but their blooming season may last only a few weeks sometime during the season. They emerge each year from the same rootstock. Few will produce flowers all summer, and then, not the masses of color of their annual cousins. Scabiosa and gerberas are two favorites that produce all through the season. Perennials may be best suited as anchor plants in the border, either combined with other varieties to obtain a full season of ever-changing color, or interspersed with annuals that are constantly in color throughout the growing season. Veteran gardeners know that it still takes a little work to keep a perennial garden perfected. Keep spent blooms and foliage removed, fertilize when growth becomes active, and keep the weeds out.

No garden is complete without some of both. Perennials as the reliable, steadfast companion, and annuals as the intense summer fling! There, controversy solved.

Which ever you choose, and I hope you choose both, look for them at locally owned greenhouses and nurseries. There you will find helpful folks who know their plants and what can be expected of them. You won’t be tempted to take home something that is just not suited to our Sandhills climate, and you’ll help local businesses stay afloat.

Happy Gardening!

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