Monthly Gardening Calendar For April

April can be a fickle month. Some years, April lives up to its promise and spring explodes in all her pastel glory. Other years, winter just won't give sway and a tug-of-war between the seasons ensues. A last word from Old Man Winter often comes after balmy days in the guise of a late season snowstorm. This can sag the blooms of the daffodils and the spirits of the beholder, alike. Fortunately, the snow is short lived, and the resiliency of plants and mankind triumphs, after all.

For gardeners, the lure of April is too hard to resist. The early blooms of the daffodils and the early blooming trees and shrubs bring an irresistible pull to get out there and get grubbin' in the soil! If there is a day that is balmy and sunny in April, you can bet that somebody in our region is out there puttering around in his or her yard! Let's see what's in store for this month:

1. Continue pulling back protective mulches from the crowns of perennials. Begin to remove mulch from roses, but keep it handy for any cold snaps we might have. Prune roses back from deadwood to greenwood. Prune roses by a third, and remove spindly or crossed branches. Hold off pruning once-blooming roses until after they bloom.

2. As the soil starts to become "workable", turn vegetable beds over, work the soil in flowerbeds, add compost and other soil amendments. Incorporate a good organic all-purpose fertilizer to your planting beds.

3. Start to fertilize roses. Again, use a good organic rose food.

4. Start planting nursery stock and perennials.

5. Direct seed cool germinating flowers and vegetables.

6. Start planting nursery stock and perennials.

7. Plant mail order stock as it arrives.

8. Apply growth supports to peonies and other top-heavy perennials.

9. Plant strawberries, asparagus crowns, and rhubarb plants.

10. Overseed lawns or start a new lawn.

11. Deadhead daffodils and other flowering bulbs as their blooms start to fade.

12. Finish applying dormant oil spray to fruit trees and ornamentals while they are still dormant, early in the month.

13. April is a good time for soil testing. Send a sample to a lab, or buy a good quality home testing kit. Your county extension agent can give you information on where to send your soil samples for testing, or advise you on what kits to use.

14. Start pruning late-season blooming shrubs now and early-season blooming shrubs such as forsythia, after their blooms fade.

15. Bare root roses can go in this month. After planting, mound mulch around them up to within an inch of the top of the canes. Remove mulch as new growth appears.

16. Resist the urge to remove, bind up, or braid foliage from early flowering bulbs after they have finished blooming. Allow the foliage to ripen before removing it.

17. Keep on top of weeds. After a rain, cultivate and pull weeds. Resolve this year to weed a little every day to keep on top of things.

18. Divide and reset perennials before they grow beyond 4 inches or so. Daylilies, mums, and hostas can be divided now. Hold off until July before dividing bearded iris.

19. Remove protection from hydrangea macrophylla around mid-month.

20. Start renewing mulch around flowerbeds and trees. Incorporate decaying mulch into the soil, fluff up existing mulch, and refresh mulch in existing beds by adding a thin layer of new mulch. Add three inches or so of mulch to areas that have not been previously mulched. Take care to keep mulch away from direct contact with your plants.

21. Start a compost pile or turn an existing one. Add some manure, organic compost starter, or nitrogen-based material to ge texisting piles revved-up again.

22. Repot houseplants and start fertilizing houseplants as new growth appears.

23. Start seeds indoors of heat-loving vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers.

24. Continue to keep birdfeeders full. Believe it or not, this is the time of the year when natural food sources are scarce. Berries and seed sources in the wild are depleted by now, and birds are beginning to nest. It is crucial for them to have a reliable food source.