Home Gardening

North Mississippi Gardening Tips
April, 2002

Notes for April

April is a really busy month for most gardeners in north Mississippi. We live for those bright, sunny and warm days to get out and get dirty--playing and working in our yards and gardens. There is no lack of beauty to behold as nature brings the landscape back to vibrant life. There also is no lack of things to do in the yard and garden! Lucky for us, our enthusiasm for gardening is at its peak so we have plenty of motivation to tackle the work at hand. By the middle of this month killing frosts are very unlikely and it is relatively safe to start planting frost-tender plants.

Keeping up with cultivating, fertilizing, weeding, planting and praying for continued pretty weather should keep us healthy, weed-free (not wealthy, I'm afraid) and wise for weeks to come!

Annual Flowers and Vines

Time to decide where to plant those annual color beds. Some folks interplant annuals among their perennial and shrub borders to supplement or sustain the bloom show of the other plant material. For example, edging a bed of yellow 'Hyperion' daylilies with the blue-flowering annual ageratum would make a nice show. Other folks prefer to use annuals in a bed or container all to themselves. This type of planting is typically used as an accent or focal point. A favorite aunt of mine always had two huge concrete urns planted with flaming red geraniums on her front porch flanking either side of her front door. Aunt Kate lived in a small white clapboard house, so you can imagine how those red geraniums "stood out" and left no doubt which door she wanted you to use! You could do like I do and use annuals both ways--incorporated in your perennial or shrub beds and also in areas or containers used for accent or special impact.

Bulbs

When night temperatures remain consistently above 55 degrees Fahrenheit, it is time to plant cannas, caladiums, elephant ears, dahlias and ginger lilies. If you took my advice last month and potted your elephants ear and caladiums bulbs (growing them indoors in a sunny, warm location) you probably will have a fairly nice size plant to transplant out into the garden when the temperature gets right, not to mention, you get the jump on everyone else!

Container Gardens

By the middle of this month you can safely drag all your frost tender pot plants back outside. Please, please do not stick them out in full sun, even if they were grown in full sun outdoors last summer. After being inside all winter under a lower light situation your plants are not ready for (acclimated to) full sun. Think about it. Would you bare your hide to the full force of the sun all day without some period of gradual adjustment? Of course not, because if you did you would wind up looking like a blood blister!--same thing with your plants. The leaves will bleach out or sunscald at the least, or at the worst the plants could be burned so badly they would die. Gradually increase the exposure of your pot plants to their new environment to avoid these problems. Work you way up to a full day of sunbathing for you and your plants!

Fruit

It can be very difficult for the homeowner to grow blemish-free tree fruits like apples and peaches without spraying for insects and disease on a regular basis. Because there are no visible fruits on our apple and peach trees now, we tend to forget that a regular preventive spray program should be started as the flower buds begin to show color. Start your spray program at the right time to prevent the disease and insect problems that will show up when the fruit is visible-by the time you see the problem it is too late to prevent it. For a complete spray schedule for apples and pears, go to your county Extension office and ask for publication number 736, "Homeowner Apple and Pear Insect and Disease Control." For peaches and plums ask for publication number 568, " Homeowner Peach and Plum Insect and Disease Control." There are many other homeowner fruit publications also available at your county Extension office-all you have to do is ask! If you planted new fruit trees, vines or fruit bushes (blackberries, blueberries, etc.) back in January and February, be sure and water them well each week if we receive no significant rainfall during that time. Don't forget that maintaining good cultural practices will go a long way in controlling insect and disease populations. Remove all dead branches and rotted and mummified fruit from the trees. Also, keep the area under trees mown and free of leaves, bark, sticks and other plant debris. A properly pruned and fertilized fruit tree is less susceptible to damage from insects or disease.

Groundcovers and Lawns

During this time there is nothing much happening in my lawn except the winter weeds (that I didn't spray to prevent last August) are quickly going to seed and making way for the summer weeds (that I didn't spray to prevent in March). My Bermudagrass is slowing beginning to green-up and will not be fully green until the middle of May ( I live as far north in Mississippi as you can without actually being in Tennessee). For those of you who live down south in Oktibbeha, Lowndes of Choctaw counties your Bermudagrass in a typical year will be completely "greened-up" by May 1st. You can actually use your lawnmowers to mow your warm season lawn grass-right now all I'm mowing are weeds! If you don't want to be in the same boat as I am, get publication 1322, "Establish and Manage Your Home Lawn" from the county Extension office. This very informative tabloid tells you how to prevent those weeds from encroaching on your lawn, plus a whole lot more.

Perennial Flowers and Vines

Now is the time to carefully separate and move those perennials that you did not move back in March. Move only those that do not have fully emerged top growth or have not started flowering.

If you haven't fertilized your perennials yet, now is a good time. It is always best to apply fertilizer based on a soil test. If you haven't tested your soil, you can use this general recommendation to give your emerging perennials a little boost-broadcast three to five pounds of 34-0-0 (ammonium nitrate) per 1000 square feet. Be sure to wash or brush off any fertilizer that comes in contact with the foliage. If you're like me, weighing out the recommended amount of fertilizer can be a problem if you don't have a weight scale (other than the bathroom one). So, here's some handy info to post next to the fertilizer bags. One pound each of 8-8-8, 13-13-13, 0-20-20, 0-46-0 (super phosphate), and 0-0-60 (muriate of potash) is equal to two cups (one pint). The next time you need five pounds of 13-13-13 just fill up that pint jar five times and be done with it. Sure beats standing on the bathroom scales holding your fertilizer bucket! Just to complicate matters a little bit one pound of 34-0-0 would fill a pint jar three-fourths full.

Trees and Shrubs

Now is not the time to prune shade trees unless there is a damaged or broken limb that needs removing, or unless a limb is threatened to go through a window of your house. Deciduous trees should be pruned while dormant. Evergreen trees such as magnolia and cherry laurel should be fertilized now if you haven't already. Use a slow-release fertilizer formulated for evergreens. Many landscape shrubs will be finishing up their bloom period this month. This is a good time to fertilize to encourage lush, new growth. Check with your favorite nursery or garden center for fertilizer recommendations.

Vegetables and Herbs

I know you are antsy to plant those warm season vegetables, like beans, sweet corn, summer squash and watermelons; but until the soil warms to above 60 degrees Fahrenheit most warm season vegetables will not germinate reliably. If you're planting watermelon, cantaloupe or okra the soil temperature should be a least 75 degrees for good germination. How do you know when the soil is warm enough? Buy a cheap little thermometer and stick the business end into the soil at the seed planting depth. You could buy a fancy, high-priced soil thermometer, but there is really no need unless you like collecting pricey garden gadgets. Or, you could do like the old-timers and test the soil temperature by sitting your bare behind on the ground. If it is unpleasantly cool to your skin, it is probably too cool for good seed germination. If you try this, good luck and I hope the neighbors don't call the cops!

Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes North Mississippi Gardening Tips monthly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.