Lafayette County Master Gardeners: April Garden Calendar

by Bronwynne Bailey

Planning

• Consider a Home Consult if you have questions or want to try something new. Master Gardeners can be reached by leaving a message at the MSU Extension Office 662-234-4451. A home consultant specialist will contact you to schedule a visit or answer questions.

Planting

• Set out most shrubs and trees.
• Divide violets, Shasta daisies, liriope, ajuga, mums, and other perennials.
• Plant okra, melons, peas, corn, beans, eggplant, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
• Set out summer annuals if danger of frost has past: ageratum, alyssum, begonias, geraniums, dianthus, celosia, marigolds, moss roses, petunias, impatiens, coleus.
• Plant summer/fall blooming bulbs: callas, cannas, dahlias, gladiolus, and gloriosa lilies.

Fertilizing

• Fertilize vegetables at planting according to recommendations.
• Fertilize shrubs if not done in March.

Pest Control

• Spray new rose leaves for black spot weekly.

Pruning

• Disbud roses and peonies for specimen flowers.
• Lightly shape any formal hedges to remove new growth.
• Prune azaleas and other spring-flowering shrubs after blooming.

Mulch

• Replenish mulch around Azaleas and Camellias. To properly mulch, apply 2-3 inches of mulch to the base of trees and shrubs. If mulching trees, do not place mulch in direct contact with the tree trunk.

Miscellaneous

• Paint and repair garden furniture and other hardscapes (bird baths, bird houses, mailbox, deck).
• Buy azaleas in bloom to be sure of color.
• Always mulch new plantings to help ensure success.
• Hummingbirds are here! Check out this blog post on ways to attract hummingbirds to your yard. It covers everything from the type of food to put out, to the specific flowers and shrubs that welcome the small creature to your landscape. https://extension.msstate.edu/blog/how-attract-hummingbirds-your-yard

Home Accent

• Divide or repot overgrown houseplants. Cut back weak parts to encourage new growth. Apply fertilizer every 2 weeks or so.

In Bloom

• Encore azaleas, blueberries, fringe trees, blackberries, pyracanthas, hawthorns, pittosporums, Japanese snowballs, pieris, cliftonia, ginkgos, deutzia, sweetshrubs, sweetspires, cotoneasters, oakleaf hydrangeas, roses, spiraea, rhododendrons, and ninebarks.
• Ajuga, alyssum, bleeding-hearts, candytufts, columbines, daffodils, daisies, daylilies, forget-me-nots, grass pinks, irises, Jacob’s ladder, lilies-of-the-valley, pansies, phlox, primroses, ranunculus, shooting stars, sweet Williams, thrifts, tulips, vincas, violets.

You can find more garden related articles and videos on our MSU Extension website https://extension.msstate.edu/search?query=march or by clicking here.