Have you ever wondered why Martha Stewart is always so perky? It's because she enjoys gardening. And gardening and springtime go together like Martha and color-coordinated garden hose.
Let's take a walk around the yard and plan our approach to spring tasks.
Late March
• Prune fruit trees before bud-break, which is the term for buds beginning to expand.
• Deciduous (leafy) trees and shrubs are best pruned in March and April before new growth begins. Wait to prune evergreens until May and June.
ADVERTISEMENT
• Rejuvenate overgrown, leggy shrubs like dogwood, lilac and spirea by pruning back to six to twelve inches above ground level before they leaf out, to stimulate bushy new growth.
• Fertilize houseplants monthly now through August. They sense the longer days of spring, and fertilizer provides nutrition to support and encourage healthy new growth.
Early to mid-April
• Sow seeds of tomato and marigold April 1.
• Loosen or remove winter protective mulch from perennials.
• Before their new spring growth begins, cut back tops of perennials and ornamental grasses that were left intact during winter.
• Uncover tender roses, but keep protective mulch close in case temperatures below 20 degrees are forecast.
• Prune roses that suffered cane dieback. Dead cane portions are dark brown-black and lack the inner live, green cambium layer seen by scratching the outer bark.
ADVERTISEMENT
• Rototill garden soil when a handful of squished soil will crumble apart. If soil remains in a mudball, it's structure can be harmed by tilling when too wet.
• Improve garden and flowerbed soil by incorporating a three-inch layer of peatmoss, compost or bagged manure. It mellows heavy clay soil and improves the moisture-holding ability of light sandy soil.
• Begin spring lawn raking when the ground is dry enough to kneel on the lawn without getting a wet spot on your jeans. It's recommended that power raking, also called dethatching, be delayed until May, because tender grass can be injured if done too early.
• Delay lawn fertilizer applications. (See late May.)
Mid-to-late April
• Apply preemergent crabgrass preventer to lawns before crabgrass seeds sprout, which begins when soil temperature reaches 60 degrees one inch deep. The herbicide could lose effectiveness if applied too early and won't work if applied too late.
• Begin early outdoor gardening by planting cool-season vegetables like pea, radish, lettuce, onion, carrot, potato, cabbage and broccoli.
• Plant bareroot trees, shrubs and roses.
ADVERTISEMENT
Early May
• Start squash, pumpkin, cucumber and melon seeds indoors in peat pots May 1.
• Sow grass seed. Soil must warm before Kentucky bluegrass seeds sprout.
• Divide perennials whose bloom season is mid-summer through fall, like hosta and mums, as new growth is just barely visible.
• Remove tree wraps for the growing season.
Mid-to-late May
• Plant potted trees, shrubs, roses and perennials. They can be planted earlier if not in full leaf, which makes them susceptible to spring frosts.
• Universities recommend delaying spring lawn fertilizer application until Memorial Day for healthiest grass structure.
ADVERTISEMENT
• Power rake (dethatch) lawns after they've been mowed several times.
• The 10 days between May 15 and May 25 are the prime window for the majority of spring planting including bedding plants, vegetable gardens and containers. Frost is certainly still possible, but less likely.
Don Kinzler, a lifelong gardener, worked as an NDSU Extension horticulturist and owned Kinzler's Greenhouse in Fargo. Readers can reach him at forumgrowingtogether@hotmail.com .
He also blogs at " target="_blank">growingtogether.areavoices.com.
