Welcome to National Gardening Month!
It is said that April showers bring May flowers, but Mother Nature had a different idea this year.
March brought on spring early and many flowers and trees have already finished blooming.
Remember one thing: Just remember that even though the air temperatures are warmer, the ground temperatures are still cold, so don’t be tempted to plant warm weather plants until the end of the month.
It is a great time to divide and transplant hardy asters, chrysanthemums and other fall perennials now.
Other established perennials such as helenium, phlox and shasta daisies also benefit from early spring divisions, however, do this before they emerge from dormancy or you can wait until after they are finished blooming.
Remember to add leafgro for organic matter and a plant starter fertilizer to ensure that there is no transplant shock and the new transplants have all the necessary nutrients needed to grow and thrive.
Hydrangea care
Fertilize mophead and lacecap hydrangeas in the early days of April.
Many varieties of hydrangea have been hybridized in the past decade or so, which seems to complicate choosing the best one for the garden.
Lacecap hydrangeas are shrubs that generally grow between 3 and 5 feet tall, and feature tiny pink or rose-colored flowers surrounded by similar colored petals.
These plants flower on dormant flower buds made the prior summer or early fall.
Mophead hydrangeas are shrubs that produce large snowball-size flowers ranging from 4 to 8 inches in diameter.
Mophead flowers can be pink, blue, red, or white, and the color will depend on the pH range of the soil.
Here is how soil pH influences the color of mophead hydrangeas:
• If the pH is below 4.5, flowers will be in varying shades of purple;
• If the pH is between 4.5 to 5.5, flowers will be blue;
• If the pH is between 5.5 to 6.5, flowers will be pink;
• If the pH is between 6.5 to 7.0, flowers will be white; and
• If the pH is between 7.0 to 8.0, flowers will be red
Fertilize with a blossom booster like Flower-tone before they emerge from dormancy.
Be sure to check the foliage periodically for signs of insect damage. Spider mites and aphids are insect pests characteristic to hydrangeas.
Use a dormant spray of horticultural oil and liquid copper (1 ounce of each to a gallon of water) and spray before they leaf out.
These hydrangeas like morning sun and afternoon shade.
Paniculata hydrangeas ( Limelight, Little Lime, Pinky Winky) bloom on new wood and should be pruned in late winter or early spring before they come out of dormancy.
They can be pruned every year and if they become to leggy, you can prune up to a third of the total plant mass.
Fertilize in early spring and adjust the pH to be between 5.8 and 6.2.
These hydrangeas like a full sun location and like all hydrangeas, they like a lot of water while in bloom.
While cleaning of your flower beds, be sure to blow out all beds and remove the debris to the trash.
Check your plants for insect and disease issues and spray a dormant spray, before they leaf out.
Apply fertilizers, the same as above.
Check boxwoods for signs of leafminer (yellow lines in the leaves) and spider mite (gray-white leaves) and scale on the stems of the plants.
I suggest using Bonides systemic insecticide, doing three applications a week apart.
Begin a monthly fertilization program for fall blooming mums.
This will need to be done each month until August.
Also remember to allow them to reach a height of 6 inches and then cut or pinch them back to 3 inches so they will provide you with beautiful flowers in the fall.
Before mulching I suggest that you apply all the necessary pH adjustments (lime to raise pH and Soil Acidifier to lower pH), fertilizers, (Hollytone, Plantone or Flowertone), organic matter (leafgro or composted manure) and weed prevention before you mulch.
The mulch will hold all the products in place and won’t wash away after any rain.
Don’t be tempted to cut back the foliage of the daffodils that are finished blooming.
The bulb uses the leaves to transform energy from the sun to help develop next years blossoms.
Leave the foliage until it has turned completely yellow and then cut back.
Also apply Bonemeal or Espoma’s Bulbtone at the label rate.
(Editor’s Note: Ken Morgan is the owner of Robin’s Nest Floral and Garden Center in Easton, Md.)