April in your garden…

There has been a Spring chill in the air this past week, but lots of warmer weather will be upon us soon! Chris is back with his monthly garden tips. Take a look below and see what you can be doing in your garden this April.

Weeds will start to become more prevalent, be sure to keep weeds under control!

Winter stemmed shrubs such as Salix and Cornus can still be cut back at the beginning of the month . Prune hard back all previous years growth to within 1-2cm of the frame work. 

Protect Fruit blossom from late frosts – you can use a layer of fleece over them overnight, and apply a layer of mulch to soil. Speak to us at Thorngrove for more help with this!

Tie in climbing and rambling roses.

Sow hardy annuals, herbs and wild flowers seeds outside.

Longer days means more sunlight – so be sure to increase the watering of your Houseplants. 

Start to feed your citrus plants. 

Trees & Shrubs:

Feed hungry shrubs and roses 

Sow new lawns or repair bare patches 

Prune fig trees.

Divide Bamboos and water lilies 

Flowers:

Lightly cut back lavenders to prevent them getting leggy and woody. Treat Santolina (cotton Lavender) and Helichrysum (curry plant) the same. 

Sow your Sweetpeas outside or plant out Autumn sown sweetpeas. 

Towards the end of the month in mild areas you may be able to plant up your hanging baskets and containers. Time to get creative! Come on down to Thorngrove to see our range of Basket plants.

Deadheading:

Remove faded daffodil and tulip flowers nipping of the heads and seed pods at the same time . 

Also deadhead your pansies and primulas and other spring flowering plants. 

Pests 

Keep and eye open for Aphids, as they can soon multiply in mild weather. 

Remove early infestation by hand to prevent them getting out of control. 

Protect your lilies, delphiniums, hostas and other new shoots from slugs and snails.

Watch out for Downy mildew and leaf spot on Winter flowering pansies.

Remove dead leaves from around the basal rosettes of Alpine plants to prevent rotting. 

For any further advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, or visit us at Thorngrove. We’re here to help!