April flower garden diary from Gardenaction

UK Weather Settings
USA Weather Settings
Australia Weather Setting

Your garden August week 3

Vegetables

Fruit

Herbs

Help on the Allotment

Greenhouse World

Plants

The Perfect Lawn

Water Garden Features

Beginner's Corner

Pest and Disease

Veg, Fruit & Herb Calendars

Flower Garden Calendar

Bristol Garden Centres

Bucks Garden Centres

Coventry Garden Centres

Wiltshire Garden Centres

Other Garden Centres

Garden Techniques

Houseplants

Book Reviews

About GardenAction

Archived Newsletters

Arboretum, Parks &
Gardens

Garden Photography

Leftovers!

APRIL IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

ACTION NOW	SOW AND PLANT	IN FLOWER NOW
Pinch out fuchsia cuttings	Plant out violas and pansies	The days begin to lengthen and the cold of winter is banished - but beware the occasional frost! Pride of place goes to the flowering cherry trees (prunus subhirtella), smothered in pink blossom. There are varieties for small and big gardens - a good one for the smaller garden is Prunus 'Amanogawa' (sometimes called the Lombardy poplar cherry). Amongst the shrubs, many magnolias will be producing their pale pink flowers now. Brooms (cytisus) will show off their golden flowers and berberis will display their tiny yellow flowers on elegant arching stems. Summer is near - enjoy it!
	Achilleas - sow
	Ageratum - sow
Dead head faded flowers from bulbs	Alyssum - sow
	Aubrietia - sow
Prune forsythia immediately it finishes flowering	Canterbury Bells (campanula) - sow
	Clarkia - sow
Late in the month begin to harden off bedding plants	Coreopsis (tickseed) - sow
	Cosmos - sow
Late in the month is a good time to prepare to sow a lawn	Erigeron (midsummer daisy) - sow
	Michaelmas daisy (aster novi-belgii) - sow
Spray roses with systemic insecticide / fungicide	Nicotiana (tobacco plant) - sow
	Poppy - sow Plant your roses
Propagate shrubs by layering	Shasta daisy - sow
	Sweet Peas - plant out
Prune buddleia (the butterfly bush)	Zinnia - sow

Basil	Dill	Mint	Rosemary
Bay Laurel	Garlic	Oregano	Sage
Chives	Marjoram	Parsley	Tarragon
Thyme
			CLOSE LAYER

Apple	Blackberry	Blackcurrant	Gooseberry
Peach	Plum	Raspberry	Strawberry
			CLOSE LAYER

Ceanothus	Choisya	Clematis	Forsythia
Fuchsia	Hellebore	Hydrangea	Japanese Maple (acer)
Lilac	Potentilla		Rose
			CLOSE LAYER

GardenAction's unique Weather Settings, adjusts all dates (sowing, planting, care, pruning etc) to your home town at the touch of a button. We use a cookie to store the information so that you never need to do it again. To set dates to your home town in the UK, click the British flag, to set dates to an American town click the American flag.
CLOSE LAYER

VEGETABLE PLANNER
Double sided fact sheets for fruit and vegetable care. Plastic laminated for use in the garden. All dates set for your home town. Only �1.99 or $3.79 per sheet.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Proud to be a partner with:


	GARDENING COMPUTER DESKTOP DIARY 30 day free trial	Planting, sowing, care, pruning and harvest dates all in your computer desktop diary. Designed by GardenAction. Ideal birthday present for only �7.49 and it lasts forever! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

As flowers on bulbs begin to fade, pinch them off with your fingers. This will stop the bulb putting any effort into producing seeds, allowing it to build up strength for next year's flowers. Do not remove or tie down the foliage until it begins to turn brown - the foliage is absorbing energy from the sun for next year's display of flowers.

Prune forsythia as soon as the flowers fade. This will ensure a good display again next year. Forsythia flowers on wood produced the previous year so pruning too late in the year will reduce flowering next year. Prune the forsythia bush to roughly half its height and width.

Black spot is the most common problem with roses. Buy varieties which are resistant to black spot and meticulously clean up all fallen leaves. Spraying with a systemic insecticide and fungicide should begin early in the season, because the spores which cause blackspot are already awakening from their winter sleep in the soil. They hibernate on old rose leaves in the soil, and will soon begin to take a hold - don't wait for the blackspot to appear, spray now and again every six weeks

Select a flexible branch near the base of the shrub, ensuring it has a couple of buds on it. Bend the branch down to ground and scoop out a hollow in the soil where the branch (with a bud on it) touches the soil. Place the branch in the hollow and cover it with soil to hold it down - it may need to be pegged to keep it in place. Most shrubs will have rooted in four or five months time. When it has rooted, cut the stem from the parent plant. It will send out shoots next spring and can then be dug up and placed in it's final position. All shrubs with flexible branches near to the ground are suitable.

Buddleias produce flowers on wood produced this year. They grow very quickly, so this month is an ideal time to prune them. Be brutal - cut away two thirds of the height and width - no special technique is required, a pair of secateurs will do the job.

Shop bought or your own from seed, violas and pansies should be planted mid month. Plant in a partially shaded area and water well for the first few weeks if conditions are dry.

Achillea filipendula, achillea millefolium, achillea ptarmica
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Alyssum maritimum, Lobularia maritima
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Aubretia deltoidea
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Campanula medium (Canterbury Bells)
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Clarkia elegans, Clarkia pulchella
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Coreopsis tinctoria (tickseed)
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Cosmos bipinnatus, cosmea
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Erigeron speciosus (Midsummer Daisy)
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Aster novi-belgii (Michaelmas Daisy)
Sow outdoors in the flower bed late in the month, 12mm (1/2 in) deep.

Nicotiana alata, Nicotiana affinis
Sow inside, temperature 15-20C / 60-69F, 3mm (1/8 in) deep.

Papaver rodeas (Field Poppy, Shirley Poppy)
Sow outdoors in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Chrysanthemum maximum (Shasta Daisy)
Sow outdoors late in the month in the flower bed, 6mm (1/4 in) deep.

Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea)
Sweet Peas sown inside earlier in the year can be planted out now. Alternatively sow outdoors early in the month in the flower bed, 12mm (1/2 in) deep.

Zinnia elegans
Sow inside, temperature 15-20C / 60-69F, 3mm (1/8 in) deep.