Garden To-Do's

A comprehensive monthly guide with suggestions and ideas for timely plantings, maintenance and fun.

March & April

At The Coast
In The Midlands
In The Piedmont
On The Mountains Across the Carolinas

At The Coast

• Do a soil test if you didn't do one in the fall. This is especially important on new ground and beds.
• Scale insects are a major pest on the coast, and the spring is an ideal time to battle them. A dormant oil or neem oil does an excellent job and is a very safe choice. Be sure to cover the entire plant if possible. Apply dormant oils twice in the spring if you have high scale infestations such as tea scale on camellia.
• Do not fertilize lawns now! Wait until the first of May so the fertilizer can be fully utilized. Waiting to fertilize will also protect tender growth against late frosts.
• Fertilize shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer when new growth starts to appear. Base your fertilizer type on your soil test results.
• Spring is the best time to sod, sprig or seed lawns. Also, it's your last chance to transplant small shrubs.
• If perennials need dividing, do this when new growth first appears.
• The first of March is the time to treat your lawn with a pre-emergence weed killer, especially if you have had a crabgrass or sandbur problem in the past. (Delay this treatment if temperatures are still low.) Pre-emergence herbicides provide 60 to 75 days of residual control and require repeat applications for long season control. Be sure to read labels for precautions to prevent damage to the roots of trees and shrubs.
• Summer- and fall-flowering bulbs can be planted after the threat of freeze has passed. These bulbs can be divided as soon as eyes have sprouted.
• Don't be too anxious to cut back plants such as oleander that received winter damage, wait until after tax day (April 15).
• Watch out for areas in the lawn where you see tunnels about the width of your finger that cause the ground to be soft and spongy. You may have an area where mole crickets are abundant. Use a soapy- water flush to bring them to the top for a proper identification, and then treat with an approved insecticide. Follow the label carefully to be sure the product is applied correctly to achieve best control.

lead agent, horticulture/agronomy, Clemson Extension Service, Georgetown County, S.C.

In The Midlands

• Prune crape myrtle trees in March before new growth begins. Earlier pruning will encourage premature shoot development and increase potential damage from late frost.
• Lay cool season grass sod (fescue), but be prepared to water it throughout the spring and summer. Decrease the frequency of watering during the summer to lessen the potential of brown patch development.
• In April, apply second pre-emergent herbicide application to lawns for control of summer annual weeds like crabgrass and spurge.
• Apply horticultural oil (summer oil) to trees and shrubs to control insect eggs, mites, aphids and certain scale.
• "Harden" store-bought or indoor vegetables before planting them outside. This is accomplished by reducing the frequency and amount of watering while leaving the plants outside during the day only for three to four days.
• Plant vegetables after the fear of frost has passed. The last frost generally occurs between mid to late April. If you choose to plant early, be prepared to protect young plants.
• Mow or prune liriope and mondo grass in March before the new growth begins to pop out.

Contributed by Gary Pierce, horticulture agent, Harnett County, N.C.

In The Piedmont

• Apply pre-emergent herbicides to your lawn before the dogwoods bloom but after the forsythias begin blooming. Do not overseed, however, if you applied a pre-emergent.
• Fertilizers should be applied in early March to cool-season grass. Try to match fertilizer to all the nutrient needs that your soil test indicates.
• Plant bare root rose bushes and replace mulch. Also, prune your roses early in March before buds break. Established hybrid tea roses should be thinned to three to five canes, 15 inches in height. Begin your spray program once growth begins.
• Check shrubs for winter damage and prune dead and weakened wood.
• Do heavy pruning on overgrown shrubs just before new growth begins. Prune using both heading-back and thinning cuts and maintain the plant's natural growth habit.
• Prune summer-flowering plants such as crape myrtles, spireas and butterfly bushes.
• Prepare your vegetable garden when soil is not too wet to work.
• Using soil test recommendations, work in fertilizer, lime and lots of organic matter.
• Cool-season vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, English peas, onions, radishes and spinach can be planted in March.
• Hummingbirds are returning from Central America as we move into April. Clean, fill and reset feeders outdoors. If the birds are attracted now, you will see them all summer long if you keep feeders filled.

Contributed by Karen Neill, horticulture agent, Guilford County, N.C.

In The Mountains

• Don't let a few warm days get you in trouble. Remember the statistical last date of frost in our area is May 10 (or Mothers Day). Check your USDA hardiness zone, which varies due to elevation.
• If you didn't in the fall, send in a soil test early, the lab gets swamped with samples from spring gardeners. Work fertilizer and lime into garden soil according to soil test recommendations.
• Plant rose bushes late in the month of March, replace mulch and prune established plants.
• If the temperature will be 28 degrees or colder, cut budded and flowering daffodils to enjoy inside.
• Use polyester plant covers or bed sheets for frost protection, making sure the fabric is not touching the plant.
• Plant new fruit trees and fertilize existing fruit trees with one pound of 10-10-10 per year of tree age. Also spray fruit trees with dormant oil before the color shows in the buds.
• Now is the time to plant greens, carrot, beet, radish and pea seeds, onion sets or plants, broccoli and cabbage plants and asparagus crowns.
• Protect seedlings from cutworms with three-inch rings of paper towel tubes or frozen juice cylinders.
• Put up purple martin houses by mid March.
• Check for azalea lace bugs, boxwood leaf miner, and euonymus scale and spray if needed.
• Azaleas and camellias do best with light fertilizer applications now in April and again in July. Use an organic or special azalea product following spring bloom. Azaleas can also be moved now. Remember they like some shade.
• Dogwood spot anthracnose begins to appear now. Prune if needed to ensure adequate air movement, and keep well mulched.
• Set out perennial plants and summer-flowering bulbs in mid to late April. Divide and transplant perennials, if needed.
• Do not fertilize cool season grasses until September.

Contributed by Eric Caldwell, extension director, and Maryann Mickewicz, administrative assistant, Transylvania County, N.C. Many of the tips were taken from the Transylvania County master gardener "Gardeners Almanac."

Across the Carolinas

• Get a head start on spring by hand-pulling weeds like chickweed and henbit in your beds.
• Remove the flowers of spring-blooming tulips and daffodils after they fade to prevent seed formation. Leave the foliage on the plant for at least six weeks after bloom is finished or until they turn brown. This allows the energy from the leaves to build up the bulb for next year's bloom.
• Plant a tree for Arbor Day (April 24)!
• Apply mulch as needed to maintain a two- to three-inch depth. Do not pile around tree trunk. Mulching is just one way to conserve water this summer. Also re-use water through cisterns and rain barrels when possible, and when planting select the proper plant for the site, selecting natives when possible.
• Prune most spring-flowering shrubs, trees and vines after they finish blooming.