{"id":1084,"date":"2014-04-10T18:41:40","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T18:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geraniumhomes.com\/blog\/?p=1084"},"modified":"2014-05-14T20:34:52","modified_gmt":"2014-05-14T20:34:52","slug":"early-spring-gardening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/early-spring-gardening\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips for April Gardening"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Early<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long cold drawn out winter, but there is<\/i> light at the end of the tunnel \u2013 and spring has finally arrived.\u00a0 What took you so long?<\/p>\n

Although the ground may still be frozen in parts and the weatherman keeps using that four-letter word, “snow” – there are still things you can do right now to get your garden ready for the much-anticipated, long-awaited warmer weather.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Inspect for damage<\/strong><\/span>
\nFreezing rain, heavy snow and high winds and this winter’s brutal storms took its toll on all of us, just \u00a0imagine what it did to your garden.\u00a0 Now\u2019s the time to get out and check for damage, be sure to prune back or remove broken stems and branches. Clearing out the debris now \u00a0allows \u00a0your garden to breathe and the soil to warm up.<\/p>\n

\"Clean<\/a>

Clean up winter storm damage.<\/p><\/div>\n

2. Amend the soil\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\nYou can start adding the nutrients<\/a> and good stuff your garden needs as soon as the soil is ready.\u00a0 When you pick the soil up in your hand and you squeeze if it\u2019s crumbly your soil ready, but if it forms a wet ball it\u2019s still too early. According to \u00a0Canadian Living<\/a> the goals of amending soil are to break up earth that has become compacted over time and to replenish its vital minerals and nutrients. The process is as simple as tilling or turning the ground, then adding generous amounts of organic material and some type of fertilizer.\u00a0 The organic material can include composted or decomposed plant material, shredded bark, peat moss. Just be sure to work it in evenly through the top layer of earth.<\/p>\n

\"Make<\/a>

Make sure the soil’s ready before you work it.<\/p><\/div>\n

3. Protect your plants from overwintering pathogens<\/strong><\/span>
\nOur friends at Sheridan Nurseries<\/a> told us this is very important to do now, especially since the tree buds are arriving late.\u00a0 By applying an organic Dormant Oil treatment<\/a> like now you will get rid of overwintering<\/a> pathogens and pests.<\/p>\n

This is really one of the key things<\/strong> for fruit trees, shrubs most trees, shrubs, roses practically any woody material except for Japanese Maples and Blue Spruce. \u00a0Spray this as soon as the day and nighttime temperatures are above zero and before the buds break or show green. By doing this early, you’ll prevent a lot of pests throughout the season.<\/p>\n

\"Apply<\/a>

Apply a dormant oil treatment now to ensure beautiful spring blossoms.<\/p><\/div>\n

4. Prune and control<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe cardinal rule is to prune after they bloom, however Canadian Gardening<\/a> tells us early spring is the time to prune and snip those late-blooming clematis and hydrangeas, various shrubs and fruit-bearing woody plants. But be careful, there are three kinds of hydrangeas \u2013 and only two of them, the Annabelle<\/a> and the PeeGee<\/a> Hydrangea, should be tidied in the spring.\u00a0 The Macrophylla<\/a>\u00a0Hydrangea (Large Leaf) Macrophylla \u00a0bloom on second year wood, so you don\u2019t prune those ones\u00a0 hard only prune to the first large bud.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Annabelle is one type of Hydrangea that can be pruned in early spring.<\/p><\/div>\n

Pruning your roses in the spring will encourage new growth and bloom, improve air circulation and shape the plant. \u00a0See our earlier blog post on pruning roses<\/a> for some handy tips and advice.<\/p>\n

\"ht109_51\"<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Feed hungry shrubs and roses<\/strong><\/span>
\nBefore plants start leafing and filling out into their spring wardrobe, give them their first feeding of the year. Coming out of winter dormancy, plants are likely to be weak as a response to a reduced availability of nutrients, adding fertilizer \u00a0now will boost the plants’ growth. So, yes, it’s a good time to feed those hungry shrubs and roses with a slow-release fertilizer, use a hoe to gently work the granules into the soil.<\/p>\n

\"Roses<\/a>

Roses and shrubs are hungry after the long winter months.<\/p><\/div>\n

6. Cut back Ornamental Grasses<\/strong><\/span>
\nIf you left your ornamental grasses up for winter interest, you can cut them back now, you don’t need to wait for new growth.\u00a0Warm season Ornamental Grasses<\/a> like Miscanthus<\/a>\u00a0(Maiden Grass<\/em>) or Panicum<\/a> \u00a0(Switch Grass – this year\u2019s perennial of the year<\/a><\/em>) should be cut down within four to six inches to the ground.\u00a0 This allows the sun to get down on the roots and warms them up faster.<\/p>\n

However, don\u2019t cut down cold season grasses<\/a> such as Fescue<\/a> and Carex<\/a>\u00a0(Sedge Grass<\/em>)\u00a0\u00a0– because they’ve already started actively growing. \u00a0I found these great tips on how to cut back ornamental grasses without the mess, click here<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n

\"Cut<\/a>

Cut back warm season ornamental grasses in Spring.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hopefully these tips will get you started.<\/p>\n

As they say April Hours bring May Flowers \u2013 and it\u2019s finally time to get out and start planning for that beautiful garden coming soon.<\/p>\n

\"Spring<\/a>

Early Spring Gardening Tips<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a long cold drawn out winter, but there is light at the end of the tunnel \u2013 and spring has finally arrived. What took you so long?
\nAlthough the ground may still be frozen in parts and the weatherman keeps using that four-letter word, “snow” – there are still things you can do right READ MORE ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,35,8],"tags":[178,175,174,30,577,177,52,51,176],"class_list":["post-1084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diy-outdoor-living","category-garden","category-outdoor-living","tag-bloom","tag-early-spring-gardening","tag-garden-tips","tag-gardening","tag-garden","tag-hydrangeas","tag-pruning","tag-roses","tag-spring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1210,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions\/1210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}