Master Gardener^sm Column for the Week of April 4, 2005
Judy Koehly
Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^sm Volunteer

In our beautiful southeastern corner of North Carolina the fear of frost is typically over by April 10, but check with the local weather station before you put any tender plants into the garden. It’s time to plant your summer bulbs: dahlia tubers, cannas, gladioli, and caladiums. Summer blooming bulbs that are already in the garden will appreciate a side dressing of fertilizer when the first leaves appear. Your reward will be bigger and better blooms. You can attract more hummingbirds and add beauty to your yard by planting nectar-producing ornamentals such as azalea, beautybush, coralberry, crabapple, catalpa, hawthorn, salvia, butterfly bush, honeysuckle, redbud, and tulip poplar. Secrets for full-flowering clematis: make sure it gets plenty of sun and at the same time keep the roots cool with thick mulch or other covering (a rock can do the job). Sprinkle some lime around the planting site to keep the soil more neutral.

As your spring flowering bulbs begin to fade, please allow the foliage to turn brown before pruning back. As long as the leaves are green they are absorbing energy for next year’s flowers. Do not fertilize or prune azaleas and camellias until after they have finished flowering. The vegetable garden can be planted with tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelons, cucumbers, and green beans. You can help prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes by adding a small handful of lime in each planting. You can form a barrier against cutworms by encircling each small plant with a 3-inch-wide “collar” of paper cup pushed an inch into the ground. Don’t forget to start your herb garden. Basil, dill, chives, rosemary, marjoram, sage, oregano, and thyme are easy to deal with and add wonderful flavor to your summer veggies and grilled meats! If you want to include mint do plant it in a pot rather than your garden unless all you want is mint in your yard, and your neighbor’s yard.

Remember to divide is divine! Now is a great time to divide perennials such as hostas, baby’s breath, Shasta daisies, asters, liriope, dianthus, and phlox. After the rain is a perfect time to go out in the garden and pull the weeds before they get a chance to go to seed and take over the whole patch! If you would like to start some new azaleas from your existing shrubs, just bend a lower stem to the ground and pin it in place with a bent wire or even a rock or brick. By late summer the stem will have rooted and can be snipped away from the mother plant.

Warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass, centipede, and St. Augustine can be planted now. If you have centipede grass keep the grass mowed to no longer than 1½ inches. Never burn off centipede grass to remove excessive debris. Do not apply nitrogen at this time. Since we are way behind in rainfall this season water your grass ½ inch every three days to avoid problems later in the summer. If you have St. Augustine grass mow at 2 ½ inches and leave clippings on the lawn. Wait until May or two weeks after green up to apply fertilizer; water ½ inch every three days. Bermuda grass should be mowed to 1 inch when lawn first turns green, leaving clippings on the lawn. Clippings provide fertilizer! You can apply ½ to 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet several weeks after the full lawn turns green. Bermuda grass requires 1 inch of water per week, usually in ½ inch increments at a time early in the morning. Set cans out and measure the amount of water put out in a given time period.

Last and by far from least do make an effort to visit the local arboretums and botanical gardens this spring – not only to take pleasure in their seasonal beauty, but also to “steal” ideas for your garden at home. Take full advantage of the plant sales offered by the local Extension centers! They offer plants that will grow best in our area. Don’t forget the Extension Master Gardener Plant Sale April 14, 15, & 16.

Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.

For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^smVolunteer

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Date Created 3/24/2005