April is here! We’re cruising right into a beautiful Spring – there’s lots to do to make the most of all this sunshine and new growth! Here’s our list to get done this month.
Check out our April Garden Guide for more tips and remember that trees, shrubs, and perennials can be planted 12 months out of the year! The only difference is the amount of water they need depending on temperatures and wind!
1. Feed Your Lawn and Plants
Fertilizing/feeding your plants this month is a must. This includes lawns, trees, and most plants. Everything is actively growing, which means they’ll need more food to continue looking their best. For lawns we love organic Medina Growin’ Green or our Gill Lawn and Garden Food. Growin’ Green is great for shrubs and trees too. For blooming perennials and annual flowers, we really like organic Plant Tone by Espoma and Medina Hasta Gro liquid.
2. Anchor Your Landscape with Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs are like the bones of your landscape. They provide structure for you to embellish with all sorts of other textures and color. You can plant most trees year-round, but these favs will greatly benefit by planting now: Citrus, Crape Myrtles, Mountain Laurels, Wild Olive, and Bottlebrush. Classic shrubs like Boxwoods, Ligustrum, Viburnum, Pineapple Guava, Eleagnus, and Texas Sage are all great to plant right now too. Planting now gives them time to start growing and you more time to enjoy.
3. Attract Helpful Guests
Add some blooming perennials to attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and birds to your garden. You’ll enjoy watching them work and they’ll help you have more blooms and better production on your veggies! Think all kinds of Salvias, Butterfly Weed, Lantana, and Mist Flower for butterflies, anything that blooms for bees, and natives like Turk’s Cap that produce a fruit or berry for birds.
4. Plant Your Warm Weather Veggies
It’s still time to plant hot peppers, squash, zucchini, basil, beans, and more. Tomato time has almost passed, but if you still really want to plant a tomato, choose a cherry tomato that can still set fruit in warmer weather.
5. Share Tips with New Gardeners
One of our favorite things about Spring is meeting folks who are new to gardening. There’s so much to share! Chances are, if you’re a regular here at Gill’s, you know a thing or 2 about gardening. Now is a great time to share tips for success (or lessons from failure) with friends and neighbors. You can always connect with us on Facebook and Instagram or send questions & pics to info@gillnursery.com. Help us encourage new gardeners to subscribe to the Gill Garden News!
Check out our April Garden Guide for more tips!
Elizabeth DuPont says
I see that wild olive is listed with the trees that can be planted now. We grew fruit bearing olives when we lived in Tucson, but will they thrive here? Does a wild olive tree just shade, or does it have fruit on it?
Patty Cary says
How often should you water newly planted plants?
James Gill says
So many different factors! Size of plant and amount of foliage in relation to the size of the pot. Planted in sun or shade. Season of planting. Clay or loose sandy soil. Open to wind, or sheltered by building, trees, other shrubs. Etc. And it varies with the weather each day. Is it cloudy or sunny? Windy or calm? If you follow a calendar schedule, you will be wrong when the weather changes. Best thing is to use a moisture meter ($7.99) and check every morning, while considering the days forecast. If your meter is down to the lower quarter, water. If it is in the top quarter and not too hot or windy that day, skip until checking again tomorrow morning. By this means you will start to learn the moisture requirements of your different plants.