Both Washington State and National Arbor Day will be celebrated this month. Washington Arbor Day is Wednesday April 10th, and National Arbor Day is on Friday, April 26th. 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 the birds.
Thin blossoms on peach, pear and apple trees to allow only one fruit per six inches or so of limb. You’ll have fewer fruit but they will be bigger and should have better taste. Allowing fewer fruit to develop will help in getting more flowers next year.
Watch for signs of root weevil damage (tiny bites from the edges of leaves that have a scalloped appearance) on Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Salal, Evergreen Huckleberry, Berginia and Hostas. We have both chemical and non-chemical methods of control.
One way to discourage harmful insects from attacking your plants is to plant an assortment of plants that attract beneficial insects to our garden. These plants will do just that: Bee Balm, calendula, candy tuft, ceanothus, cilantro, clover, daisy, dill, erigeron, fennel, parsley, rue, snowberry, sunflower, sweet alyssum, thyme and yarrow.
Plant seeds for beets, carrots, chard, lettuce and radishes. Set out starts of celery, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collards, kale, peas and onions.
Prune jagged edges on stems and branches of small trees and shrubs that were damaged by winter storms. Do not use pruning seal or paint on pruned edges.
From mid-April through May is a good time to over-seed your lawn or just touch up the bare spots. Whether or not you aerate first be sure to fertilize and cover the seed with one-quarter inch of Black Forest Compost. The compost will help keep the seed warm and moist until it germinates and it will hide the seed from the birds.