This is the time to weed, feed and heed the advice of experience. If you don’t pull, hoe or smother weeds in April, you’ll have showers of weeds all summer long.
Weed: make this the week you pull, smother and hoe every weed in your garden and you’ll have millions less weed seeds to deal with this summer. The million number is no exaggeration. A single weedy plant can spew up to 50,000 weeds seeds into the air and each tiny seed will try to sprout and spread.
Feed: early April is also when you see the start of new growth on trees, shrubs and perennials. Hungry, hard-working blooming plants like roses, clematis and phlox will appreciate a helping of fertilizer this week, either alfalfa pellets, composted manure or a commercial plant food that releases nutrients slowly into the soil.
Fertilize the lawn if you haven’t done so this spring. A spring feeding helps to crowd out summer weeds.
Q. I have a rose that is in partial shade. Can I move it now? M.B., Seattle
A. It is not too late to transplant or move rose plants but don’t delay – the longer you wait the more painful it will be for the rose. The best time to move roses and evergreens is when they are under the anesthetic of winter dormancy. You can prune the rose by one third before you start the operation but don’t fertilize right after a transplant, unless you use a slow-release plant food. Push the liquids, not a big meal after any operation.
Q. Are there any roses that will do well in the shade? I would like a climbing rose for the north side of my house. T.S., Tacoma
A. Yes, I have one in my own garden. It is an old-fashioned climbing rose with great fragrance called Zephirine Drouhin that is still popular in Europe and blooms most of the summer with deep-pink, double flowers. I grow it in partial shade but here’s the garden gossip: Zephirine blooms but I wouldn’t say it’s a heavy bloomer when grown in the shade or partial shade. Like all roses this climber would produce more flowers with more sun. The good news is it has remained healthy in the shade for a dozen years. You can find this rose at nurseries that specialize in old roses. I bought mine from Wayside Gardens years ago. Another pink rose that survives in my mostly-shaded garden is Queen Elizabeth but this reliable grandiflora rose does best when allowed to grow quite tall and Queen Liz has never had much of a fragrance.
Q. I want to start growing vegetables this year. What is the name of the book you wrote and how do I sign up for vegetable growing classes? B.B., Bonney Lake
A. The book is called “Edible Gardening for Washington and Oregon” and it is not just about growing veggies. In our climate there are many other edibles that grow well so I’ve included growing berries, herbs and even dandelions. To sign up for any of the April gardening classes, including the class on “Incredible Edibles,” go to www.greenriver.edu/enumclaw or Green River Community College at 253-288-3400. I’ll also teach free, Saturday morning classes on “Edible Abundance” at both Sky and Furney’s nurseries. Visit their websites for more information.
Q. I need a privacy hedge that will grow fast but I do not want to prune it every year once it is mature. I have lots of room. What do you think of English Laurel? N.H., Olympia
A. I do not think too much of growing English Laurel only because it grows too much. The fast-growing English Laurel will survive shade, drought and even salt spray but it can send “volunteer” plants all over the neighborhood and grows very wide. To keep it looking tidy English Laurel requires lots of trimming. Instead, consider a mixed hedge planting of Portugal Laurel (P. lusitanica) mixed with evergreen conifers like the upright and narrow-growing junipers or arborvitae. Blue Point Juniper, Spartan Juniper or Green Columnar Junipers grow tall but stay narrow and tidy. Stagger the plantings rather than line the shrubs up in a row like soldiers. Now you’ll have a natural-looking, evergreen, privacy hedge that won’t demand any pruning to keep it looking tidy.
