By now you should be noticing more plants coming to life and wildlife activities increasing. Now is the time to sow seeds, plant bulbs, tidy plants and divide them.
Below you will find a list of jobs you can do throughout April:
- Acuba Japonica: plant now, keeping ground moist for the first year.
- Baliota Pseudodicutanus: cut back to encourage new growth
- Bulbs: plant summer flowering bulbs now
- Blue berries: blue berries flower in spring. Prune off old branches as fruit grows on new branches.
- Campanula: Divide plants, prune, take cuttings and/or sow seeds - Further Read 'How to grow campanulaportenschlagiana'
- Catmint: the older the plant the less it will flower, now is a good time to divide and sow seeds.
- Cosmos: sow seeds direct to soil
- Cornflower: sow direct to soil at least 0.5cm deep, 10cm - 15cm apart. They prefer well drained low fertile soil with at least half a days sun exposure. You can purchase cornflower seeds from our website. - Further Reading 'How to grow cornflowers'
- Cranesbill geranium: Dig up congested plants. Using two forks back to back, place them down into the root system and work the forks apart. Continue doing this until you have new plants with plenty of root system for each. The old woody centre of the plant can be placed into your compost. It is also time to buy and plant new geraniums, or sow indoors from seed. - Further Reading 'All you need to know about cranesbill geraniums
- Deciduous trees and shrubs: there is still time to prune trees and shrubs. Check for nesting birds before you start. Do not disturb nests, simple wait until autumn to prune instead.
- Erigeron Karvinskianus (Mexican Fleabane): Divide plant making sure each new plant has plenty of root. - Further Reading 'How to grow erigeron'
- Evergreens: can still be pruned if needed, especially if flowers appear on new growth
- Fatsia Japonica: plant new bushes, or prune older bushes to keep their shape
- Foxgloves: plant out foxgloves grown from seed last year. Sow seeds indoors in trays with propagator lids. You can also try sowing direct to soil, but best left until June.
- Fuchsia: harden off young plants by placing them outside each day, gradually building up the time they are out in fresh air before planting them. Older fuchsias can be pruned as soon as you see new growth.
- Garlic: now is the time to plant bulbs. Even the garlic bulbs you eat can be placed directly into soil and they will produce pretty flowers during spring.
- Gaura Lindheimeri 'RosyJane': sow seeds, take cuttings, prune and divide.
- Geum: Plant in sun to partial shade in moist but well drained soil. They do not like a hot position or too much wet weather during winter. Divide Geums every three years.
- Hardy Annuals: can be sown direct outside. They do best in poor soil so don't enrich or fertilise.
- Half Hardy Annuals and Perennials: are best sown under glass, and should be planted out into fertile soil after all risk or frost has passed.
- Hellebores: can be planted at any time of the year. They should be in full flower right now.
- Hylotelephium spectabile brilliant: divide
- Lavendar: plant
- Penstemons: plant - Further Reading 'Everything you need to know about penstemons'
- Red Valerain Centrantuhs ruber: when new shoots are about 15cm long, use a sharp knife to cut just below a bud. Take several cuttings, remove all but the top leaves on each stem and space the cuttings out in a pot of gritty free-draining compost. Cover the pot with a plastic bag and leave it in a cool, light position indoors. To stop the root system becoming congested, ever three years or so during Autumn or Spring, dig up the old plant shake off any surplus soil and use a spade or gardening knife to cut through the root ball leaving each segment with its own rootball and several stems. Remove and add the woody centre of the plant to your compost. Replant the remaining divisions in separate planting holes about the same size as the root ball, water in thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots.
- Stipa Arundinacea Anemanthele Lessoniana pheasant's tail grass: run fingers through grass to remove dead bits.
- Sunflower seeds: sow outdoors
- Thyme: plant
- Wallflowers: take cuttings - Further Reading 'How to look after wallflowers'
Enjoy your gardening jobs for April.
