Both Washington State and National Arbor Day will be celebrated this month. Washington Arbor Day is Wednesday April 8th, and National Arbor Day is on Friday, April 24th. These are especially good days to plant a tree or a shrub if your space is limited. We can provide suggestions for both whether your preference is for flowers, fragrance, fall color or berries for birds. 

Watch for signs of root weevil damage (tiny bites from the edges of leaves that leave a scalloped appearance) on Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Salal, Evergreen Huckleberry, Bergenia and Hostas. We have both chemical and non-chemical methods of control. 

Thin blossoms on peach, pear and apple trees to allow only one fruit per six inches of limb. You’ll have fewer fruit but they will be bigger and should taste better. Allowing fewer fruit to develop will help in getting more flowers next year. 

Beginning about Mid-April and all of the month of May is a good time to over seed your entire lawn or just repair bare spots. Whether or not you aerate first (recommended), be sure to fertilize and cover the seed with one-eighth to one quarter inch of Black Forest Compost. The compost serves several purposes. It will keep the seed warm and moist until it germinates and it will hide the seed from the birds.  If not already done, now is a good time to give your roses a little care that will improve their health, help them grow more vigorously and give you great flowers all spring and summer. Start by cultivating the soil around the crown of the bush outwards for about one to two feet. After removing weeds and grass dig in one full cup of Alfalfa Meal for each bush. Water the rose deeply and cover the cultivated ground with one to two inches of mushroom compost.