April Gardening Tips

April Tips

	PLANTING • Plant and care for citrus and subtropicals –Plant citrus trees from containers. Feed established trees with a complete fertilizer such as Yara Triple 15. For organic growing use Dr. Earth Citrus & Avocado Food. Water as necessary.
	• Plant cool-season lawns –This is a good time to plant Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, rye and bentgrass lawns from seed or sod. Grangetto’s Tall or Dwarf Fescue seed is on sale this month. Also consider installing Sod; Performance Tall or Dwarf Fescue Sod is a great way to start enjoying the benefits of a lawn right away.
	• There's still time to plant roses. They are full of buds and blooms right now--and they are simply gorgeous.
	• If you are a beneficial insect lover, flat-topped flowers like Shasta daisies, scabiosa, strawflowers, and yarrow are perfect additions to your garden for feeding them. Beneficial insects such as the almost microscopic parasitic wasps, ladybugs, etc. keep other insect pests away from your vegetable gardens by eating aphids, scale, and other annoying intruders. You can use beautiful flowers to tempt these garden friends into your garden. Try putting some of these flowers near to your rose garden for aphid control!
	• Time to plant dahlias, begonias--and get in the gladiolus bulbs. Add some Dr. Earth Bone Meal to the planting hole for great root development and beautiful blooms!
	MAINTENANCE • The narcissus and daffodils are blooming, as well as other spring blooming bulbs. As soon as the blooms are spent, you can deadhead--but don't remove the foliage! The bulb needs that green foliage to add nutrients back to the bulb for next year's flowers. Hide the clippers for a little while longer. Try an old-fashioned technique of braiding the leaves. If you must cut, leave at least half of the leaf length for the bulb. It will thank you with next year's bloom!
	• Continue with fertilizing those areas of the garden you haven't gotten to yet. Once your azaleas and camellias have stopped blooming their hearts out, they will thank you if you feed them. Feed them with Dr. Earth Cottonseed Meal and top dress with Worm Gold Plus, an organic product that contains worm castings along with kelp and rock mineral.
	• You may see some chlorosis on your acid-loving plants like the azalea or camellia, and possibly on your citrus. This yellowing of the leaves between the veins is a sign of iron deficiency for the plant. Feed with a good iron supplement such as Ironite or Lilly Miller Azalea & Camellia Food. Use Dr. Earth Azalea & Camellia Food for organic growing.
	• Especially near the coast, this is the time we begin to see powdery mildew on our rose foliage (and other plants too). There are several different foliar fungicidal sprays to that can help. Consider Bayer Insect Disease and Mite Control or Ortho Rose Pride are good conventional use products. Use Monterey E-Rase for organic growing.
	• Aphids will be back. Remember that you can first wash them off with water. Really, it does help. For more severe infestations, ask a Grangetto’s Garden Expert to recommend something suitable for your particular plants.
	• Continue to replenish your mulch and maintain a 2-4" blanket over your soil. Remember, mulch helps to conserve water.
	• Watch for snail and slug damage. Treat for snails & slugs in vegetable gardens and ornamentals with Corry’s Slug & Snail Pellets or Meal. Copper snail bands offer protection around trunks of fruit trees. Use Monterey Sluggo around domestic animals and wildlife.
	• Replace old, worn rakes. Flexrake Aluminum Handled Shrub or Lawn rakes are on sale this month! Clean out beds of old leaves which my harbor disease.
	• Feed palms this month with Gro-Power Premium Palm & Tropical Plant Food 9-3-9. It contains magnesium & manganese for greening up palms plus humic acid. For larger areas consider using Apex 13-4-12 Palm K.
	• Care for roses –Feed and protect from insects and disease with Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Rose & Flower Care Concentrate. One application applied to the roots lasts up to six weeks. To control diseases, insects and spider mites, use Bayer Advanced™ 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control Concentrate or Ready to Spray.
	• Control weeds: Weeds in garden beds are easiest to control when young. Use an appropriate herbicide such as Green Light Amaze, hoe or pull by hand. (Be sure to take care in applying herbicides to prevent spray drift from damaging desirable plants.) To control weeds in lawns while giving them a good feeding use Lilly Miller Ultra Green 28-2-3 Weed & Feed.
	• Control indoor & outdoor pests –To control insects like spiders, fleas and ants, use Spectracide Triazicide Once & Done, which provides up to 12 months of insect protection. It controls insects in lawns & around homes so they don’t come inside!
	• Control mosquitoes: Use Mosquito Dunks in ponds or standing water to help control mosquitoes.
	•Fertilize lawns: If you didn't fertilize last fall, feed cool-season lawns. As Southern lawns, like Bermuda grass, begin to green-up, feed them as well. Use Yara Turf Royale 21-7-14 for quick green up. For convenience in small areas use Scotts Handy Green II Hand-Held spreader. For larger areas use the Scotts Basic Broadcast Spreader.
	• For easy fertilization on hillsides, containers, ground covers, shrubs, flowers & trees consider using Gro Power 8-8-8 Toss N’ Gro.
	• Landscape: It's prime planting season for everything from flowering trees and shrubs to ground covers and roses. Protect new plantings from insects with Bayer Advanced™ Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate.
	• Mow: Cool-season lawns are growing vigorously. Mow weekly.
	• Water gardens: Check irrigation systems. Fix clogs and broken sprinklers. Adjust spray heads. Begin watering as weather warms. Apply a fresh layer of organic mulch to conserve moisture.
	• Water lawns –Check irrigation systems. Fix clogs and broken sprinklers. Adjust spray heads. Begin watering if weather warms but only after soil has partially dried. Check with your local water department or cooperative extension service for lawn watering guidelines.
	• Kenyon 4” Bullhead Trench Shovels are great for laying pipes, irrigation and drainage. By one in April and SAVE $10!
	• Did you know that you could SAVE up to 30% on Your WATER BILL? Consider replacing old irrigation systems with updated water efficient weather based systems. Rebates and vouches are available for many water saving irrigation products. See a Grangetto’s Irrigation Expert for suggestions and help determining the best system for you.
Always read and follow the direction of the label before using any product. Have a question? Ask a Grangetto’s Expert Today. Contact us via email, phone or visit us at one of our four locations!