In your garden in April it is time to...
1. Colour your world
ONCE TEMPERATURES HAVE DROPPED, it’s a great time to plant Iceland poppies as seedlings (we love ‘Matilda’). You can also sow seeds of Shirley poppy and peony poppy at this time. Keep them just moist until germination occurs.
Also good for planting now:
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alyssum
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candytuft
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cineraria
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cornflower
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lobelia
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lupin
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penstemon
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polyanthus
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snapdragon
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sweet pea
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verbena
For more colour, fill pots with easy-to-grow pansies and violas. Choose a wide, shallow container with a good drainage hole. Position in a spot with morning sun, and liquid feed regularly to boost growth and promote flowering.
2. Eat your greens
STEP UP YOUR INTAKE ANTI-OXIDANTS. Plant a row of leafy Asian vegies, such as pak choy and tatsoi, and spring onions. These greens grow best in cool weather.
3. Refresh the lawn
AERATE COMPACTED LAWNS using the tines of a garden fork or hire an aerator for larger lawns. Use a hose-on wetting agent before feeding your lawn with an organic pelletised lawn fertiliser (such as Sudden Impact for Lawns) and water in well. This will boost turf growth for a greener, healthier lawn that resists weeds like bindii!
4. Repot tired pot plants
APRIL AND MAY ARE IDEAL MONTHS to refresh and repot plants. Lift the plant out of the pot, shake off old potting mix, then replant into the same (or one size larger) container—having washed and disinfected it first. Cover the drainage hole with wire mesh if necessary to prevent potting mix from spilling out. Use a premium-quality potting mix, adding coarse grit if extra drainage is required. Water in well with a seaweed solution to help reduce transplant shock and promote root growth.
5. Plant sweet strawberries
APRIL IS THE BEST TIME TO PLANT strawberries. Your plants will establish over winter and be ready to bear fruit as soon as the soil warms and the days grow longer.
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SELECT A SPOT THAT receives at least six hours of sun.
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PLANT STRAWBERRIES IN 500mm-high raised garden beds or containers. This helps avoid damage from lizards, slugs and from snails.
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CHOOSE A FEW VARIETIES to extend the harvest season. Explore the range at your local garden centre or online at tesselaar.net.au
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MULCH STRAWBERRIES TO lock in moisture and keep the soil free of weeds.
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FEED YOUR PLANTS ONCE they are flowering with a liquid fertiliser specially formulated for flowering and fruiting plants, such as Yates Thrive Strawberry & Berry Liquid Plant Food.
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REMOVE RUNNERS AS THEY develop and replant them for the next season.
6. Care for clivias
FEED CLIVIAS IN March, April and May with a sprinkle of powdered sulphate of potash to encourage flowering. If you want to divide and replant, do so after flowering. Watch out for the dreaded lily caterpillar. Young caterpillars skeletonise clivia leaves while older ones can strip leaves and attack the crown. Spray plants thoroughly with OCP eco-neem or OCP eco-caterpillarkiller. Caterpillars will cease feeding immediately but may take a couple of days to die.
7. Spring into bloom
APRIL IS A GOOD MONTH to plant spring bulbs in the garden and in pots. However, hold off on tulips, as they require a chilling period in the fridge before planting in late May or June, once the soil temperature has cooled. Enrich the soil in your garden bed with home-made compost, sulphate of potash, and blood and bone. Daffodil, jonquil, Dutch iris, anemone, ranunculus, babiana, muscari, freesia, bluebell, ixia, and sparaxis can all be planted now. Hyacinths, with their exquisite fragrance, are best planted in decorative containers. Keep them cool and shaded to force the flower stem to elongate out of the bulb.
8. Prevent leaf curl
SPRAY PEACH AND NECTARINE TREES with a copper-based fungicide, such as Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide, after leaf fall. This helps protect the trees from leaf curl disease by creating a barrier that prevents the fungus from establishing in spring. Apply thoroughly over the tree and dispose of any diseased fallen leaves.