Green Thumb Tips
Echter’s Plant Doctors are available
during store hours seven days a week to answer your gardening questions. For
accurate diagnosis, it helps to bring in a sample.
- Flower Gardens
An easy way to harden plants that are going outdoors is to cover them with
Plant & Seed Guard for a few days after you plant them. You can use wire
supports if necessary to hold the fabric away from the plants. Attach it to the
ground with wire staples. It’s re-usable.
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- Pot begonias and dahlias now and keep them indoors until later in May.
This will give them a good head start and they will bloom earlier after putting them outside.
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- Flowering annual starts which can be planted out
in early April after “hardening them
off” are alyssum,
dusty miller, sweet peas, anchusa, larkspur, centaurea,
pansies, dracaena, and snapdragons.
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- Perennials & Roses & Vines
- When planning your flower bed, whether it is
planted in annuals or perennials, don’t overlook ornamental grasses for a
beautiful contrasting texture.
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Spring is the best
time to divide perennials that bloom in mid or late summer such as asters and
chrysanthemums. Wait until September to divide early spring-flowering
perennials like bleeding hearts and peonies.
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- Plant wildflower
seeds in April. Improve your soil before planting by raking in either peat moss or compost
or a
combination of the two.
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- Trees & Shrubs
- April is the best
time to plant new trees and shrubs. Improve the soil
first with compost and/or peat moss. Then apply MYKE Tree &
Shrub Transplanter and water in with Root
Stimulator, both of which reduce transplant shock and stimulate root growth.
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- When planting large trees,
stake them for the first year. Use
2” wide staking straps around the tree. Do
not use wire, twine or rope on
the tree itself. Place the stakes 2-3 feet away from the tree, tie the strap
to the stake and leave a little slack. Let the tree sway slightly to develop
roots and caliper.
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- April is perfect
time to take stock of the plants in your yard. Are there plants that
have overgrown their spaces? Are some sickly and unattractive? Now is the time to pull them out and replace them with a new and vibrant
plant. This is what garden renewal is about.
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- Cut back butterfly
bushes, blue mist spireas, Russian sage and other late summer-blooming
shrubs at this time.
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- If
you didn’t get around to pruning your shrubs and trees in March, you can
still do some pruning now, the earlier the better.
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Protect your ash trees from Emerald Ash Borers. Use Ferti-lome Tree and Shrub Systemic Insect Drench
for easy-to-use systemic protection from insects all year long. Follow the
label directions and just mix it with water in a watering can or bucket and
pour the solution around the base of trees or shrubs.
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Remove protective tree wrap from young trees
around April 1. Check the
trunk for any problems.
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- There are several trees, shrubs, and flowers which will attract those
all-important pollinators – the bees. Anyone with a fruit tree or a
vegetable garden knows their importance. Stop by our Plant Doctor desk
for
a list of these plants. Remember to refrain from spraying
insecticides while bees are present. Something to note: bumblebees are
more effective pollinators than honeybees.
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- Deep-root
waterers get water under the lawn which is useful for trees, shrubs and roses.
Some of these tools
also have a container for dissolving fertilizer pellets to feed your
plants right at the roots.
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Vegetable Gardens
- Before rototilling your garden, be sure the soil is on the dry side. Add
compost and/or peat moss to the garden and work it all in.
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- It's time to plant
seeds of peas, turnips,
carrots, beets, spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, radishes. Plant garlic
cloves, seed potatoes, dormant strawberry plants and
onion sets.
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- Keep an N-sulate cover handy for unexpected frosts after your garden is
planted. It will keep the frost off new seedlings as they emerge from the soil.
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- If you are having trouble growing plants in your gardens, have your soil
tested. We can test your soil for nutrient deficiencies for a nominal fee. We
can let you know what to do to improve your soil for more flowers and
vegetables.
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- Remember to rotate your vegetable crop
plantings each year. Plant each variety of
vegetable in a different part of your garden than you did last year. This
will minimize repeated problems with disease and insects.
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- By placing a floating row
cover over your carrot, lettuce, and spinach seed, your seeds will
germinate quicker, and the birds won’t make a meal of them. Floating row
covers also eliminate cabbage loopers on cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and
Brussels sprouts.
Keep
your cover handy in case there is a cold snap
for any newly planted vegetables and flowers.
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Lawns
- Early April is the best time to start
fertilizing your lawn. By using a fertilizer with pre-emergent (weed and grass
preventer), you will be able to eliminate a lot of annual grass and weed seeds
by keeping them from germinating.
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- April is a good time to seed or overseed
lawns. Use a good grass seed and apply New Lawn Starter fertilizer after the
seed is sown. Keep the area moist even after germination. Do not apply a
pre-emergent crabgrass control before or after seeding, as this will prevent
grass seed germination.
Core aerate your lawn before fertilizing this month. Not only does this
help the lawn’s vigor and health, it also reduces maintenance and water usage. Be sure your lawn is well watered
a day or two before aeration.
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- Birds
- It's spring cleaning
season even for birds. If you haven't cleaned your bird houses this
year, clean them
out and then spray them with a bird feeder cleaner before the new birds arrive.
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- Continue feeding the birds at your feeders. Seed-producing plants are just
beginning to grow and there
are now more birds competing for the depleted
wild seed supply. Give them a supply of water also.
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