Why wait for April’s showers to pay off in May? Get your garden going now and let the blooms begin! Spring is the optimal time for cool season annuals and early season veggies while also being one of the best times to plant perennials, shrubs, and trees in order to set them up for success. If you wait too long to get your garden started, you risk missing out on harvests, beautiful color, and extra time to enjoy your plants. Don’t wait for May’s flowers, have them now and reap the rewards of planting in April!
Plant Doctor Quips
APRIL
Moana Nursery High Desert Gardening
Timely Tips
- Turn on your irrigation system and inspect for leaks, broken/clogged heads, coverage and other problems. Or let Moana Nursery’s irrigation specialist do it for you; call 825-0602 x134 to schedule an appointment.
- Release beneficial nematodes when nighttime temperatures are above 45 degrees for control of soil dwelling pests such as root weevils. Ladybugs, praying mantids & lacewings can be released at the same time to control a wide range of garden pests.
- Start a new lawn from seed or repair an existing lawn; cover seed with G&B Organics Rose & Flower Planting Mix and use Bird B Gone Flash Tape or Dalen® Guard’n Eye® Reflective Disks to protect from birds. Moana recommends Jonathan Green Black Beauty Grass Seed.
- Core aerate your lawn manually with a Yard Butler Coring Aerator, then fertilize your lawn if you haven’t yet done so. Use G&B Organics Lawn Fertilizer.
- If you have weed problems, use Hi-Yield Turf & Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper or Jonathan Green® Corn Gluten Weed Preventer.
- Install Mason Bees & nest tube now to help with early pollination of fruit trees.
- To bring an old lawn renewed vigor, top dress with G&B Organics Rose & Flower Planting Mix to ¼ inch depth. For even greater vigor, apply G&B Organics Lawn Fertilizer first.
- Moana recommends Bonide Weed Beater Ultra for superior performance in cool weather on broadleaf weeds – i.e., dandelions, wild mustard and more.
- Use Bonide Ground Force Vegetation Killer to kill unwanted plants where you don’t intend to plant for at least one year.
- Prepare planting beds by cleaning up debris and incorporating three inches of organic matter, like G&B Organics Soil Building Conditioner or G&B Organics Purely Compost into the soil. Mulch existing plantings with 2-4” of compost as well.
- Continue watering trees, shrubs, lawns, perennials and containers.
- Continue planting fruit trees – pear, apple, peach, cherry, nectarine, apricot & plum.
- Use Codling Moth Traps, according to directions, to determine when and how often to treat pear and apple trees with Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew.
- Feed fruit trees with a balanced fertilizer like G&B Organics Citrus & Fruit Tree Fertilizer.
- Feed trees and shrubs that have been planted more than a year with G&B Organics Paradise Fertilizer, a time release pelletized toss & go fertilizer with beneficial mycorrhizae.
- Moana recommends Bonide Annual Tree & Shrub Insect Control if insects have been a problem in the past. Please always follow all label directions when using pesticides.
- Inspect trees and shrubs for insect and disease problems; treat immediately with appropriate product.
- Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs immediately after they have bloomed.
- Continue planting dormant roses.
- Remove tree stakes and ties from trees & shrubs planted a year ago or longer.
- It’s not too late to start tomatoes, other warm-season vegetables & annuals from seed indoors.
- Attend to your houseplants by adding SUPERthrive each time you water (1 drop per cup or ¼ tsp. per gallon).
- Repot root-bound houseplants with G&B Organics Blue Ribbon Blend potting soil and water thoroughly with SUPERthrive as noted above.
- Begin fertilizing houseplants with Fertilome Houseplant Hero or FoxFarm Grow Big Liquid Plant Food or Fertilome All Purpose Water Soluble Plant Food as new growth begins.
- Plant summer bulbs with G&B Organics Bud & Bloom Fertilizer or Happy Frog Steamed Bone Meal. Moana Nursery has a great selection of summer bulbs, including gladiola, dahlias, canna, lily of the valley and others to enjoy this season.
- Fertilize spring blooming bulbs with Happy Frog Steamed Bone Meal as new green growth emerges and when they finish flowering.
- Pull back mulch from around the crowns of perennials.
- Plant cool weather color, perennials, ornamental grasses & roses.
- Now is the time to plant your perennials that will bloom later this season. Choose from delphiniums, poppies, lupines and others to add to your perennial garden.
- Divide mature summer and fall blooming perennials (except for daylilies, oriental poppies & iris) when they are 4-6 inches tall.
- Prune, feed and mulch your roses; Moana recommends G&B Organics Rose & Flower Fertilizer or Fertilome Rose & Flower Food plus Systemic (feeds & protects). Mulch with G&B Organics Harvest Supreme, being sure to keep mulch 3 inches from the canes.
- Deadhead spring bulbs once they’ve finished flowering and feed again with G&B Organics Bud & Bloom Fertilizer or Happy Frog Steamed Bone Meal. Allow foliage to wither completely before removing.
- Stake peonies to support blooms when they reach 10” in height.
- Bosmere Kozy Coats are designed to shield plants from frost, snow, and freezing temperatures ensuring they thrive year-round. Simply slip it over your plant, secure it with the built-in drawstring, and watch it work its magic. No more struggling with cumbersome covers or expensive heating systems.
- Plant asparagus crowns, potatoes, onions and other cool season vegetables and fruit trees now. Use Dewit N-Sulate Frost Protection Blankets or Dalen Insulated Plant Protectors to cover your lettuce and other cool season vegetables, allowing you to harvest sooner in our short, sporadic season.
- Plant strawberries and pinch off first year flowers.
- Fertilize raspberries and other brambles with G&B Organics Citrus & Fruit Tree Fertilizer.
- Plant tender veggies with G&B Organics Harvest Supreme and Dalen Insulated Plant Protectors which allows you to start tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc., 6-8 weeks earlier without fear of freezing. Plants will be healthier and produce up to twice the fruit 30-40 days earlier. Fertilize with G&B Organics Tomato Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer.
- Water is the best way to attract birds and wildlife to your yard and increase the chances of spotting an unusual migrant visitor at your feeder station.
- Continue to supply fresh water and change it every 5 days to keep it clean. To prevent the chance of disease, clean birdbath weekly with a weak bleach solution and rinse well.
- If you have a water feature, turn it on as soon as the weather permits.
- Reduce window strikes and potentially harmful territorial behavior of birds at windows with UV window decals and Stop Bird Attack.
- April is a nest building month; place nesting materials out for them now and consider a Wild Birds Unlimited birdhouse for wrens, bluebirds or woodpeckers if they are visiting your yard.
- Roosting boxes can supply a shelter for some nesting birds; doves and robins are quite likely to use a fabricated nesting shelf.
- Help celebrate Earth Day by installing an eco-friendly bird feeder or nest box made from recycled milk jugs.
- Install a customized Wild Birds Unlimited bird feeding station where you can easily watch the birds it attracts. To make your station especially attractive, plant bird-friendly flowers and shrubs nearby.
- Provide mealworms to attract nesting birds to your yard and for the feeding of new nestlings.
- Offer WBU Nesting SuperBlend®, Mealworms, WBU Bark Butter Bits®, Bugs & Bits®, Peanut Butter n’Jelly® Suet Dough or WBU Bark Butter® to provide the extra calcium needed during nesting season. Bark Butter® products are popular with parent birds and nestlings alike!
- Consider adding our new Bugberry Blend to your feeders as an attractive treat for fruit and insect eating birds.
- Hummingbirds are HERE! Get those hummingbird feeders out in order to take care of new visitors. Change nectar at least weekly until they begin feeding regularly when you’ll frequently have to refill! Orioles will follow soon – be ready with oranges, grape jelly and sugar water.
Feederscape Consultation
If you want our expert help setting up a feeding station at your home or business schedule a consultation today. Our Bird Nerd will help you make your landscape a refuge for birds and humans alike.
Our Seasonal Color Team can help you with custom containers, annual planting beds or a simple refresh of your existing garden. Schedule a free consultation today!
Need help with your indoor plants? Contact our Interior Plant Services team. They can help you design, install, and maintain your indoor plants! Want a WOW plant presentation? Ask about installing a LIVING PLANT WALL! Examples of plant walls are available to see at both our Moana Lane and Pyramid Way locations.
Our Expert Plant Doctors can help you with your high desert gardening;
Diagnose disease & insect problems on trees, shrubs & lawns;
Identify existing plants in your landscape and how to care for them;
Provide plant placement for DIY customers. *Plant Doctor Consultations will not be available April 18th-June 2nd.
Contact our Plant Doctors with questions about your garden.
Moana Lane Store
Jon Bruyn
Michael Roth
Pyramid Way Store
Jennifer Lowery
South Virginia Street Store
Steve Packer