Summer Bulbs - Plant Gladiolus every two weeks until the first of July for a
continuous bloom. Plant Callas, Ranunculus, Crocosmia and other summer bloomers
anytime this month.
Vegetables - Beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, onions, peas, potatoes and radishes can
be planted just before the last frost. Interplanting onions helps to prevent cutworms.
Corn requires a soil temperature of at least 60 degrees. Start cucumbers, melons,
peppers, squash and tomatoes indoors for May planting.
Annuals & Perennials - Many perennials and groundcovers bloom in April. Buying a few
in bloom each month insures continuous flowers in your landscape. Annual seeds of
Asters, Cosmos, Marigolds, Zinnias and Snapdragons may be sown now. Started annuals
may be set out now, but protect them from frost.
Spring Bulbs Care
Remove the spent flowers after they finish blooming so they will not use up energy
producing seeds. Do not cut off the leaves because they are needed to store up food
for next spring's flowers. Remove the leaves when they turn yellow and start to dry.
Lawn Care
Lawns need a complete fertilizer every six weeks through September. A weed & feed
formula can be used to control broadleaf weeds, but it has to be applied evenly to
the entire lawn. A liquid weed killer works better to kill clover and only needs to
be applied where there are weeds.
Check for thatch, which is a layer of dead roots and stems on top of the soil. An
inch thick layer of thatch causes problems with watering, fertilizing and disease.
Remove it with a power rake or thatcher and reseed.
If the lawn is full of weeds or coarse grass, April and May are good months to kill
every thing with Roundup, power rake, and re-seed with a good blend of fescue and
perennial ryegrass.
Pests
Watch for areas of lawn that are thinning or yellowing in an otherwise healthy lawn.
It might be caused by European Crane Fly. To check, drench a square foot of soil with
warm, soapy water. If half inch long, gray brown larvae appear, treat the lawn with
beneficial nematodes or Imidacloprid.
Watch for adult crane flies. They are Common Crane Flies, which are new in the Northwest
and much more destructive that European Crane Fly, because they feed on the lawn in July
and August when the lawn is stressed by dry weather.
Leaf spot diseases are worst when leaves are young and tender, and the weather is
cloudy and rainy. Begin spraying fruit trees, dogwoods and roses every seven to
ten days with a fungicide. Include an insecticide when insects are present. Do not
spray insecticides on open flowers because it kills the bees which we need. For codling moth
on apples, spray just as the flowers are about to open and again when the petals have
mostly fallen.
Watch for sooty mold on camellias and other broadleaf evergreens. Spray with oil to
control scale insects and the sooty mold will go away.
Check rhododendrons and azaleas for tiny, light brown spots on the underside of the
leaves caused by lace bugs. Severely damaged leaves are almost white. Spray with a
product containing Imidacloprid, such as, Bayer Advanced Garden Tree and Shrub Insect
Control, or Spinosad, such as Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew, to prevent lace bug damage.
Both are toxic to bees, so do not use if flowers are about to open or until flowers have dropped off.
Watch for early weeds. It is easier to pull them when they are small. Hairy bittercress is easier to see when the small white flowers open. Be sure to pull them before the
seed capsules mature or they will spit out the next crop of weed seeds as you pull them.
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