SPRING CLEAN UP IN THE GARDEN
"April is the cruelest month…" ( T.S. Eliot)
By Jennifer Wawrzynski
Although the Nobel Prize winning poet may have had other inferences in mind with this opening line, perhaps we think of the aches and pains that come from garden work after a long, idle winter season. Spring officially arrived on March 20th this year, and is the key time for cleaning up, transplanting, and dividing. If our Western New York weather remains cold and wet longer than you like, here is some warm-up tasks to ease the more strenuous gardening work to come.
Clean and oil tools if not done in the fall.
Take soil test of existing or future beds.
Remove evergreen mulch, but keep handy for emergency cold weather. Choose a cloudy day for this to prevent burning new growth.
Fertilise and top dress beds.
Cut back plants left for winter interest; watch for early emerging perennials such as Pulmonaria which should be cut back before new growth has a chance to mature.
Check evergreen plants for removal of dead leaves.
Provided the weather begins to cooperate, move into high gear:
Renovate perennial gardens. Installation and plantings usually begin around the third week in April.
Perennials can be divided and transplanted when growth is 3-4 inches high. If growth has got any larger, plants may benefit from cutting back by one-third to one-half.
Divide woodland wildflowers after flowering: this applies only to your garden – never collect from the wild.
Add compost if transplanting or planting into an existing garden.
A nonselective, nonresidual herbicide can be applied staring about the second week in April when grass and weeds are actively growing.
Be patient with late – emerging perennials; do not disturb or plant over them.
Continue fertilising, top-dressing and mulching. All winter mulch should be removed by now.
April is a good time to aerate the soil with a fork or hoe, taking care not to damage roots.
Weeding begins, as perennials haven’t yet filled in enough to smother them out.
Staking may need to be applied in the third or fourth week in April, particularly to fast-growing perennials.
Continue to fill bird feeders, as many birds migrate during late April into May.
Once warm weather is assured, prune down tender perennials such as mums.
Pinching may be necessary on perennials at planting.
Seedlings can be removed from the greenhouse and placed in cold frames.
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