For those of us who garden in the northeast, April is a month of mixed weather. Temperatures can fluctuate wildly, we often get snow, and hopefully we get a lot of rain. Unlike children, plants like to go to bed wet and to wake up wet. I
n April we get our first good gardening days, bright sun and temperatures in the mid 60’s and higher. So get out those tools, which you have of course cleaned and sharpened in March, and let’s get to work.
- Cut back ornamental grasses
- Cut back perennials left for winter interest (but not Perovskia, Russian sage)
- Cut back “Annabelle” hydrangeas (arborescens) to 6″ above ground
- Thin red-twigged and yellow-twigged dogwoods
- Rake out leaves and other dead plant material
- Edge beds
- Compost beds with 1″ high quality compost (leaf mulch and/or manure)
- Apply pre-emergent crab grass treatment when the forsythia blooms
April is the perfect time to transplant. Plants are wet and still asleep and will hardly know they have been moved.