Your head is in a swirl, excited for the upcoming season, what to plant, when to fertilize, what needs pruning, and on and on.
Resist planting tender plants too soon
Because of the erratic spring weather in Colorado, is better to be patient and wait for the weather to warm up. Consider planting cool season perennials and annuals that have been hardened-off and can handle cool weather. Days of warm weather and moist soil encourage plants to grow, but sudden freezes may devastate any sprouts and tender leaves. In turn, you may find yourself replanting.
Listed below are some of the garden tasks which can be done this month.
- Start a list with timelines for getting projects and planting done during the upcoming month.
- Weeds are beginning to sprout in lawns and gardens. Pull weeds like in moist soil and when they are still small. For dandelions, use a dandelion digger in your lawn or spray with Fertilome Weed Out or Weed Free Zone in cooler weather.
- Divide perennials – if a perennial ‘clump’ has become too big, now is the time to divide and move to another location. Doubling the number of perennials around your space. Consider daylilies, garden phlox and shasta daisies to be divided.
- Cool season vegetable seeds: lettuce, leafy greens, spinach, radishes, carrots, beets, peas can be planted now through the end of the month.
- Plant cold hardy annuals now such as pansies, snapdragons, alyssum, dianthus and dusty miller.
- Aerate, de-thatch existing turf areas. Now is a great time to apply lawn fertilizer, especially if rain or snow is in the forecast.
- Roses can be pruned and shaped the third week of April (no earlier!) Remove all dead wood to the ground level. Remove any old, weak, and canes rubbing against one another.
- Remove winter tree wrap from trunks of young deciduous trees.
Patience is the name of the game when spring is here in Colorado. Work on your to do list, and by the time ‘real’ spring has arrived – you’ll be ready to plant and enjoy.
