APRIL - BEST PRACTICES and TIPS for the FLOWERING GARDEN (and LAWNS)
TIME TO...
Clear up the last of the Summer annuals and preparing ground and planting Autumn/ Winter varieties by adding compost and a slow release fertiliser.
TIME TO PLANT...
This is really the last month for planting spring flowering bulbs. Mix bulb food into the soil when planting this will get them off to a good start once the roots start developing.
Lots of winter flowering shrubs and trees are available in store this month. It's the ideal time to plant as it gives the plant time to establish and firm up in the ground before the onset of winter. Remember to stake tall trees when planting.
Plant out calendula, cineraria, primulas, polyanthus, pansies, violas, cineraria, sweet pea, stock and wallflowers.
Plant up pots and containers for autumn and winter colour. Add slow release fertiliser to the potting mix and feed weekly with a liquid or soluble flowering plant food. A tub filled with pansies or polyanthus will look a picture and will flower for months. New season's camellias are now coming into store. The perfect shrub for winter colour in the garden.
Now is a good time to transplant shrubs.
TIME TO SOW...
Seeds that can be sown in April include:
Alyssum, paper daisies, sweet peas, poppies for rememberance, calendula, candytruf, Canterbury bells, carnation, cornflower, delphinium, dianthus, foxglove, godetia, larkspur, Livingstone daisy, lobelia, pansy, polyanthus, primula, stock and wallflower.
TIME TO FEED...
Camellias, azaleas, gardenias, and rhododendrons with acid food to promote healthy new growth and combat yellowing leaves. Best applied when it is raining.
Feed flowers every two weeks with a Thrive Soluable Plant Food.
Give roses their final feed for the season so they will be in top condition for winter.
TIME TO CONTROL...
Earwigs. They love chewing holes in Autumn flowers and eating the leaves of camellias etc. Use a Pyrethrum based spray such as Yates Natures Way Pyrethrum to control them. You can also use Kiwicares LawnPro Protect sprinkled on the soil around the plants.
Autumn hygiene is really important in the garden. Pick up fallen diseased leaves and place them in your red wheelie bin.
Conifers may be showing signs of disease. Check for borer holes in the trunk. If found clear the entrance and squirt some caterpillar insecticide into the hole. Hose of patches of dead leaves, or clear them away by hand.
TIME TO PRUNE...
Cut back anything that's dead or fading. Trim off any sun-damaged leaves.
LAWNS
Now is the ideal time to repair, renew or sow new lawns.
Control weeds in lawns. We recommend using Kiwicare's Lawnpro Turfclean Ultra. It's fast-acting and controls the broadest range of weeds including hydrocotle and oxalis.
Mow lawns more regularly and feed with lawn food as the rain becomes more frequent. As the days cool, growth will slow so lift the mower blades and avoid watering in the evening to prevent lawn fungal disease taking hold.