MARCH:
- Plant perennials and evergreen shrubs -
- (Annuals should be started in flatbeds indoors until each plant has at least four leaves.)
- Plant your peas on St.Patrick’s Day. (If there’s no snow stopping you.)
- Start slow growing and cool season seeds like: onions, leeks, parsley, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant and peppers
- Prune non-stone fruit trees, grapes and raspberries. Start all-purpose spray regimen.
- Begin removing mulch from around rose bushes
- Deadhead bulbs as they finish blooming, but leave the foliage to die naturally. This will nourish the bulb for next year.
- Move highlight plants to the for front as they start to bloom. Containers allow you to change the look of your garden from month to month.
- Begin horticultural oil (dormant oil) applications where needed to control pests
- Prune vines and roses as they start to bud.
APRIL:
- Plant tender vegetables and annuals as soon as the danger of frost is gone (Pansy OK).
- Divide and replant perennials that every 2 to 3 years or based on their growth & size of pot.
- Plant asparagus roots and onion sets.
- Prune back conifers as they begin sprouting to retain shape.
- Now is the time to prune Azaleas and Rhododendrons as they finish blooming.
- Start watering regularly, make sure that new plants are kept moist as their roots establish.
- Re-mulch beds as necessary
- Remove tent caterpillars and webs
- Begin monitoring for signs of disease
- Have irrigation system turned on.
MAY:
- Begin Early Summer Planting/Annuals and Perennials
- Once your last frost date has passed, warm season crops can be planted (Herbs, etc,,,)
- Start seeds for melon and squash. Hold until the end of May, to avert squash bugs and borers.
- Plant vines, shrubs and trees. Consider Honeysuckle and Clematis for summer and fall color, shrubs like Azalea and Escalonia for structure and fruit trees specifically hybridized for decks.
- Begin pinching annuals and perennials to make the plants fill in and produce more blooms
- Prune evergreens when the new growth starts to turn a darker shade of green
- Prune stone fruits (cherry, almond, peach, nectarine, plum) at bloom time
- Remove and dispose of azalea leaf gals before they turn white and release their spores: (The leaves and entire shoots become thickened, curled, fleshy and pale green to white. In the latter stages of the disease, the galls are covered with a white powdery substance. The disease is more alarming than damaging. If you only have a few plants, control the disease by hand picking and destroying diseased leaves. )
- Fertilize regularly, the soil in containers tends to wash out fairly quickly. Pick a day of the week to fertilize with an organic food.
- Keep an eye out for hungry bugs like: aphids, leaf hoppers, potato bugs, cut worms & June bugs.
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