Spring Gardening Tips

March

This is the month our gardens start to wake up. Frosty nights will still be around, but there's a lot you can plant this month.
After a long winter, there's nothing like some garden color to raise the spirits. It's still the time for pansies, primroses and potted bulbs, but there are other early flowers to plant this month. Sweet peas, calendulas, dianthus and snapdragons can be planted now, as well as spring and summer blooming perennials. We also have a selection of summer flowering bulbs including dahlias, lilies and gladiolus.
Start your victory garden this month! Plant leafy greens, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, peas, onions, leeks, radishes, carrots and shallots.
Roses are best planted this month, and the best selection of the year is available now. It's also time to prune existing roses.
Bare root berries, grapes, asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries and fruit trees should be planted this month.
A great month for planting trees and shrubs. Our garden centers are full of beautiful spring flowering shrubs right now!
Go after slugs this month... every one you get now will help keep the population low. We recommend pet and child safe SLUGGO.
Lawns will appreciate an early feeding this month, as well as an application of lime. If you haven't already, treat for moss.
If the soil is dry enough, PREPARE your flower and vegetable beds by adding rich compost such as BumperCrop.
Ready for that large do it yourself project? With a qualified plant purchase, our Planscaper® Professionals will help ensure you plant the right materials in the right locations for a yard that will be the envy of all your neighbors. Call or visit any Garden Center for more details.

April

Welcome to the first full month of spring! While we are enjoying warmer days, we can still have cool, even frosty, nights. Not yet time for tomatoes, but there's a lot you can enjoy doing this month.
Plant your salad garden this month - greens, radishes, carrots, herbs, potatoes and beets. It's also time for broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale and cabbage. Wait until May for warm season veggies like tomatoes and peppers - it's still too cool for plants that like warm nights!
Our lawns often take quite a beating over the winter, so they will appreciate a feeding this month. If you have moss, treat it now if you haven't already. It's a good month to over seed to cover bare spots or thicken up a lawn that's thinned out. If you use a weed and feed, this is the month it will be most effective.
Lots of cooler season annuals can be planted this month, especially the second half. Sow seeds for sweet peas and nasturtiums now, sunflowers in May. Replenish your containers this month also, doing it now will mean full beautiful pots later this spring and summer.
Trees and shrubs, even established plantings, should be fertilized this month. We recommend Dr. Earth all purpose fertilizer - it will not only feed your plants but improve the soil they live in with beneficial microbes and fungi.
April is a great time to plan your garden projects for the year - and we can help! Ask about our unique Planscaper® program, a free design service that will guarantee you spend your garden dollars wisely by assuring the right plants go in right places to create the yard you've always wanted.
Don't forget garden seeds - we carry a great selection, and it's a way to stretch your gardening budget. Our staff will gladly help you select and show how to start your plants from seeds. We'll tell you what to sow directly in the ground, and what seeds you can start early to get the jump on your victory garden this year.

May

May is here at last! It's time to plant all those warm season vegetables which are going to taste so good later this summer. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, pumpkins, corn and more should go in the ground this month. Try some heirloom varieties this year for flavor you'll never find at the grocery store.
It's also time for the warm season annuals like impatiens, coleus, and zinnias - plants that will provide color throughout the warm summer months.
For improving your soil for flower or vegetable beds, we've never seen anything make things grow the way BumperCrop does - watch for special sale prices in the month of May.
Remember, small new plants don't have a full root system yet, so they're vulnerable to drying out; be sure to water regularly during dry weather.
Young plants are also easy prey for slugs, cutworms and caterpillars. We recommend Sluggo+ to control all these pests without putting your children, pets or wildlife at risk.
Spring flowering shrubs can be pruned after the blossoms fall, but don't prune summer bloomers now or you may be without flowers for a season.
Lawns should be watered deeply twice a week once warm, dryer weather arrives. Keep your lawn green naturally with Dr. Earth lawn food - and feel good about protecting our rivers and lakes.
Want to start your summer with something for FREE? With a qualified plant purchase, our Planscaper® Professionals will help you plan your next do it yourself project. Our expert advice and plant guarantee will help ensure you get just the yard you want. Stop by or call any Garden Center for details.
And let's not forget roses. For beautiful roses, we recommend Bayer All-In-One. Just apply to the roots once every 6 weeks and your roses will be protected from mildew, black spots and insects- and you're fertilizing them at the same time!