Except for the extreme north corner, early April is the opening date for the spring planting and gardening season up North. In the far north it generally does not start until the first part of May. The first item on the agenda in April in any part of the north corner is the annual spring clean-up of beds, borders and lawns. The winter coverings of leaves and hay which have given much needed protection to plants during the winter must be removed as soon as the weather permits, generally early in the month.
It is especially important to remove promptly the protective winter mulch from beds and places where the spring-flowering hardy bulbs are located before they start growing. Tulips, hyacinths, narcissus, and crocus must not be allowed to start into growth while still covered. If they do they will grow in a twisting manner as they work their way upward and they will lack the good green color so essential to their development. Sometimes only a week’s delay in uncovering can be disastrous, especially if the bulbs are located against a building, wall, fence, hedge or landscape planting that traps the warmth of the sun and encourages the bulbs to start growing exceptionally early.
Spring Bulbs Can Take It
Some gardeners are concerned unnecessarily when their bulbs start growing early in the season and mistakenly believe that the coverings are still needed because hard frosts can be expected during the month. Although it is not necessary to do a finetooth combing type of job when removing the coverings, it is best to remove the main bulk.
A little litter may be left on the surface of the bed but even this is not necessary if a neat appearance is highly desired. The springflowering bulbs are rarely if ever damaged by spring frosts. They can take a hard frost without noticeable injury. A stack of hay can be kept to be forked quickly over the new growth if an exceptionally cold wave should occur and remain for several days.
Early removal of winter protective covering is desirable to permit air, sun, and moisture to reach the soil and plants and to prevent the development of mildew and molds and destroy those that have started.
Not too long after the winter mulch has been removed the soil may be given a light cultivating to loosen and aerate it. This also is the ideal time to apply a complete commercial fertilizer at the rate recommended by the manufacturer of the product used.
Attention to Roses
Tender garden roses should be “unhilled” as soon as the frost is out of the soil. The tops generally are killed back enough so that when the dead parts are pruned out the remaining live part is at the right height to start the plant off for the season. Usually, in our area, only six inches or so of the live canes survive the winter. Thus winter in the “north corner” automatically prunes back the canes of garden roses to about the right amount. Light cultivating of the soil and an application of complete fertilizer will complete the season’s first attention to established roses.
April is the best month for the planting of new dormant garden roses. They should go into the ground as soon as the earth can be worked. Before planting a new rose examine the tops and root systems for broken and bruised parts which should be pruned away leaving only firm, healthy canes and roots. All canes should be cut back to about ten inches but the roots should not be reduced in size. Roses do best in a fertile, sandy loam soil and in a place where they will get at least a half day of direct sunlight.
Morning sun is preferred because it will dispel night dews quickly and early in the day thus reducing the possibilities of disease spores getting started on the foliage. Also, the morning sun is not as hot as the afternoon sun and flowers last longer and keep their color better. Roses should never be planted where they receive shade from overhead. Shade can come from a nearby building, wall or fence but not from branches of trees and shrubs overhead.
Method of Planting
Because of the added winter protection obtained, garden roses are planted so that the bud union is set about two inches below the surface of the soil after the planting operation is completed. A generous sized l hole should be dug so that the roots may be spread out instead of being cramped or bunched into a small space. A better planting job can be done if the roots are placed over a cone of soil in the bottom of the hole. In order to get the plant solidly anchored, soil must be packed firmly over the roots and watered down thoroughly so that there will be no air pockets. Then soil should be hilled over the plants for about ten days to prevent the canes from shriveling and drying out. This treatment also will encourage sprouting of the dormant buds on the canes.
The hilled soil really should not be removed until sprouting occurs, nor should it be removed on a hot, windy or sunny day which would be disastrous to the new growth. Choose a cool, cloudy day for the last important step in the planting operation.
The home lawn also comes in for some important attention early in April as soon as it has dried out enough so that it can be walked upon without leaving footprints in the sod. Then it should be swept with a lawn broom to Huff up the turf and destroy molds that may have developed during the winter. It is not necessary nor even desirable to rake out all the dead grass as is so commonly done. Too often the lawn is given a hard raking with a common steel garden rake, removing all the dead grass which should be left to serve as a mulch for the protection of the roots. Also as this dead grass decays it will leave a small but significant amount of organic matter beneficial to the turf.
The planting of dormant trees and shrubs is started in April and continues into May. April also is the time for the planting or transplanting of evergreens.
