Gardening This Weekend: April 19, 2018

It’s fun to spend time outdoors in the spring here in Texas. Here are your late-April “gotta-dos” for your gardening enjoyment.

PLANT

• New turf from sod or plugs now. Once soil has warmed up considerably (now in South Texas, in May in North Texas), bermuda can be sown from seed.
• Trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers while nurseries have best selections.
• Summer annuals including trailing lantanas, pentas, angelonias, fanflowers, copper plants, firebush, purple fountaingrass, wax begonias, Dragon Wing begonias, ornamental sweet potatoes, moss rose, hybrid purslane, Dahlberg daisies, coleus. It’s probably best, at least in the northern half of the state, to wait a few more weeks for warmer weather to plant caladiums and periwinkles.

PRUNE

• Spring-flowering shrubs and vines such as bridal wreath, forsythias, flowering quince, azaleas, Carolina jessamine, Lady Banksia roses, wisterias and others to reshape and remove erratic growth.
• Winter damage from crape myrtles, gardenias, oleanders, pittosporums and other plants that might have been hurt by the cold of January and February. Reshape as needed.
• Mow lawn regularly and at recommended height for type of grass you’re growing to eliminate as many weeds as possible.

FERTILIZE

• New trees, shrubs with liquid root-stimulator soon after planting. Balled-and-burlapped plants can be fertilized with it three or four times the rest of this summer.
• Annual beds and container plants with complete-and-balanced, water-soluble plant food each time that you water them.
• Turf, landscape plants and vegetable crops with all-nitrogen fertilizer with half or more of that nitrogen in encapsulated, timed-release form.

 

ON THE LOOKOUT

• Clover, dandelions, dichondra and other non-grassy weeds can be eliminated with application of a broadleafed herbicide containing 2,4-D. Read and follow label directions carefully to avoid damage to trees and shrubs.
• Snails, slugs and pillbugs devouring tender new growth overnight. Look for slime trails of snails and slugs. Apply Sevin dust or bait. Eliminate fallen leaves and other hiding places.
• Cabbage loopers, cankerworms and other chewing caterpillars can be eliminated by application of the organic remedy Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.).