There is also an English proverb: ‘A cold April, the barn will fill’ and it’s wise to still keep an eye open for any signs of frost, to protect young shoots with fleece or cloches; similarly protect plants like Azaleas from cold winds.
There’s still time to plant hardy herbaceous perennials but do so now as they will be putting on growth. Weeds are on the way so be prepared for clearing them, your hoe should be at hand. Look out for pests – greenfly, slugs and snails and you may wish to deal with them with biological treatment.
Help any plants that need staking and tying. A sprinkling of hardy annual seeds in the borders will bear flowers for very little outlay and bring in birds and butterflies. Buy bedding as plug plants if you’re short on time and space, and this will save you money compared to buying plants at bedding out time. April is a good time to plant alpines.
You can be propagating hardy perennials, planting evergreen shrubs, propagating shrubs by layering, pruning roses and cutting back shrubs such as Buddleia Davidii. Lawns will need more frequent mowing and check in the borders for emerging self seeded plants to transplant or pot before weeding and mulching the border. As the weather warms weed borders and apply a mulch.
- Dead head naturalized bulbs such as daffodils before they form seed heads, to keep them healthy
- Prick out and pot on seedlings to save overcrowding
- Divide sprouted dahlia tubers and pot them on
- Stop early flowering chrysanthemums by pinching out the growing tips
- Rake moss from the lawn
- Trim lavender
- Tidy salvias when new shoots appear
- Plant violas and pansies that have been hardened off
- Feed roses with a dressing of compound fertiliser
- Stake tall perennials
- Attend to the pond Plant sweet peas raised in the greenhouse if hardened off
No comments:
Post a Comment