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April Trees It's really too late to be planting bare root trees, because they are coming out of dormancy and starting to grow. If you have already bought them then plant them immediately. Container-grown trees can be planted most of the year providing that the soil is not waterlogged or frozen. April is a good time to plant them as there is a wider choice of new stock at the nursery or garden centre, and the soil is warm and still moist from the winter rain. Dig out a hole twice the size of the root ball and loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole. Mix into this loose soil some Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost. Position the root ball into the hole and add some Bone Meal to the soil and compost mix. Fill in around the roots with a mix of the surrounding soil and Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost, and firm gently around the roots. Water thoroughly even if it has rained as this will settle the soil and compost around the roots and help the tree establish more quickly. After a week or so, top up the compost around the roots where it has settled and mulch the area with an appropriate mulch. Use Mini Chipped Bark or Cocoa Shell for small areas and Chipped Bark or Pine Bark for large areas. Feed garden trees with Growmore applied around the base of the tree. This general-purpose plant food is a balanced formula to promote good all-round growth. If you haven't already done so, check tree ties and loosen any that are too tight. Check your trees for any wind damage and carefully prune out any affected stems and branches taking care to prune back, close to the supporting branch or trunk so that the wound will heal quickly. Check and top up mulches around the base of trees. Use one of the Westland mulches such as Pine Bark, which will last longer than many chipped barks and are ideal for larger areas. Apply mulch around the base of trees after heavy rainfall to suppress weed growth, improve the soil moisture retention and insulate the roots from extremes of temperature. For the best results and great appearance, opt for a large, chunky mulch such as Chipped Bark or Pine Bark for large borders and areas, and a finer mulch such as Cocoa Shell or Mini Chipped Bark for small borders, containerised trees and around specimen trees in the lawn. Roses and Shrubs Feed new and established rose bushes and flowering shrubs with Rose Plant Food. It's designed to support healthy roses, encouraging plenty of rich green foliage and masses of wonderful flowers. It can also be used to feed trees. Finish pruning your roses by removing any dead and diseased stems. Open up the centre of the bush by removing any overgrown stems and any that are rubbing together. Always prune just above an outward facing bud, as this encourages the plant to grow out rather than in and creates a much better shape overall. An overcrowded bush is much more susceptible to pest and disease problems. Toughen up existing roses and shrubs and help them to become more resistant to adverse weather and plant diseases by treating them to a tonic of Sulphate of Potash. This traditional formula is well known by experienced gardeners to encourage stems to ripen and mature and also to promote healthy growth and flower production. Keep a watch on early shoots for the first signs of pests. Many pests such as aphids coincide their lifecycles with the growth pattern of your plants, so as your roses and shrubs burst into growth this provides vital food for the first generations of this year's pests. Be vigilant and deal with them as soon as you see them with your preferred method of attack. If you want to garden organically be sure to feed the birds to encourage them into the garden, order some ladybird and lacewing larvae ready to release them next month and plant plenty of brightly flowered annuals to attract beneficial insects into the garden. Many shrubs can be pruned in April. Dogwoods (Cornus) respond particularly well to hard pruning, as this encourages plenty of fresh coloured stems to develop. Spring flowering shrubs such as Forsythia, flowering currants, Weigela, Deutzia and early Clematis should all be pruned after flowering as they all actually flower on stems made last year. If you remove these stems before the flowers have opened you will stop the plants from flowering this season. Plants that flower on this year's stems should be pruned in early spring to encourage plenty of new growth and flowers this season, these include Roses, the butterfly bush (Buddleia), Hydrangea paniculata, and Caryopteris. Feed after pruning with Rose Plant Food. After heavy rainfall or when the ground is still wet from the winter rain, mulch around garden shrubs and roses. Smaller areas and ornamental beds such as rose borders look better with a finer mulch such as Cocoa Shell or Mini Chipped Bark. Large shrub borders merit a larger mulch such as Pine Bark or Chipped Bark. Fruit and Vegetables Continue sowing vegetable seeds. For sowing in pots and trays always be sure to use fresh, clean compost that has been allowed to acclimatise to room temperature. Seed & Cutting Compost or John Innes Seed Compost are specially formulated to nurture your precious seedlings and cuttings. It's a matter of personal preference which formulation you choose. The Seed & Cutting Compost is a peat-based compost that contains fine horticultural sand to ensure excellent contact with your seedlings and added vermiculite for improved drainage. John Innes Seed Compost is a loam-based compost with added peat, horticultural grit and nutrients and is the preferred choice of many experienced gardeners. Both will give excellent results. In a cool greenhouse or propagator you can sow tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, courgettes, runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn and half-hardy annuals. Sow into small flowerpots full of Seed & Cutting Compost, or for large seeds such as sweet peas, beans and peas use Root Trainers that allow the roots to develop undisturbed until they are ready to plant out. Outdoors, if the soil is crumbly and not stodgy, sow broad beans, leeks, summer cabbages, cauliflower, summer spinach, French beans, peas, celery, parsnip, and Brussels sprouts, protect with cloches. Make a shallow trench in the soil about 1in (2.5cm) deep, line the base with Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes, water gently and then sprinkle the seed thinly on top. Cover over with more compost. Beetroot, parsnip, peas, spinach, turnip, lettuce, carrots and radish can be sown in shallow drills lined with compost, without extra protection. However if you are in an exposed position, or the weather is particularly harsh, a covering of fleece or a cloche will help speed germination. Plant onion sets out into the garden. Add a dressing of Organic Growmore to the soil before planting. These tiny onion bulbs should be pushed gently into the soil with their tips just showing. Plant them 10-15cm apart. Plan to sow a few seeds of each vegetable every two weeks so that they mature at different rates to provide a succession of produce for the table. Some crops such as carrots can be sown in small amounts right through until July so that you get plenty of fresh carrots all through the summer and autumn and into winter too. To avoid your carrots being affected by carrot fly, cover over the emerging seedlings with fleece, pegging it down thoroughly all along the edges to prevent the carrot fly adults gaining access to your crops. This will stop their eggs being laid along your rows of carrots, and prevent the potential larval damage to the carrot roots. You can also choose to grow some of the widely available carrot varieties that show excellent resistance to this problem. Feed permanent crops such as herbs, asparagus, rhubarb and fruit in early spring with Organic Growmore. Continue to plant potato tubers 5-6in (12.5-15cm) deep and about 12in (30cm) apart. Cover over with fleece to protect emerging shoots from frost. As shoots appear cover them over with more soil. This encourages more tubers to form underground. Keep the vegetable and fruit beds weed free. Weeds not only compete for any available food and water, but they also provide shelter for a number of garden pests and diseases. Dig out any perennial weeds making sure to remove all the roots, and hoe off any annual weed seedlings as they appear. Always hoe when the soil is slightly dry and on a sunny day so that the uprooted weeds seedlings will quickly wither. Trim back the side shoots of gooseberry plants by half and remove any that are close to, or touching the ground. Feed them with Organic Growmore or Feed-all Slow Release Granular plant food to ensure a good crop of fruit. Protect fruit bushes, especially currants and gooseberries from bird damage. Cover with fleece to keep the birds off while the new buds are bursting. Remember to remove the protection as the flower buds start to form, otherwise pollinating insects will not reach the flowers, and you will not get any fruit. Lawns As the weather warms up the grass will start to grow much more rapidly. Start to cut it more regularly to keep it neat and tidy, but don't be tempted to cut it very short as this will stress the grass plants and allow moss and weeds to invade. Keep them at about 2cm by mowing once or twice a week. Utility lawns can be cut about once a week to a height of about 2-3cm. Make a check on the condition of the lawn, in particular for weeds and moss that may have invaded the lawn. It's very important to keep these problems in check or they will take over the lawn completely, competing with the grass for all the available nutrients and moisture. Occasional weeds can be dug out with a hand tool, but be sure to get out all of the root system. If there are lots of weeds and moss too then save time and effort and use the triple action Lawn Feed, Weed & Moss Killer. The added weed killer quickly deals with a variety of common and persistent lawn weeds, encouraging them into fast and uncontrolled growth until they literally burn themselves out and die. It also contains fertiliser to boost the grass and help it to compete with weeds and moss and since moss thrives in low nutrient levels, by feeding the lawn you actually help to deter further moss invasion. Apply using the revolutionary new hand-held lawn spreader. It's refillable and guarantees to cut treatment time by more than half, delivering lawn treatment granules evenly to avoid underfeeding and scorching. If moss is taking over the whole lawn then although killing it will make the lawn look better, you really need to deal with the underlying causes. A poorly fed lawn is unable to compete with moss for food and water, low nutrient levels in turn, encourage the growth of moss, so the problem is then compounded. If the lawn is poorly drained and compacted then this also encourages moss to grow and if it's in shade too this creates the perfect conditions for moss to thrive. So if the lawn is shady then try to alleviate this by pruning overhanging trees. When you have dealt with the moss by treating it with Moss Killer, or Lawn Feed, Weed & Moss Killer, over-sow any bare patches or thin areas in shady spots with Shade & Drought Lawn Seed. This is a special mixture that contains grass species adapted to grow in shady, difficult spots and is ideal for under trees. Moss Killer and Lawn Feed, Weed & Moss Killer will turn any moss in the lawn black after about 2-3 weeks. Rake out the dead moss and use the Lawn Repair Kit to treat the bare patches. Compacted lawns can be aerated in spring if the soil is not too claggy and still a little moist from the spring rains. You'll know if your lawn is compacted because it will be rock hard, slow to drain after rainfall and may also have to bear heavy foot traffic. Paths across the lawn are often quick to compact. Opening up the structure of the soil improves the drainage around the grass roots and encourages healthy growth. Ideally you should remove plugs of soil using a hollow tine aerator and fill these with Lawn Dressing. You can also use a normal garden fork and push the tines into the soil to a depth of 7-10cm if possible and then brush Lawn Dressing into the holes. Lawn Dressing contains a mixture of 50% sand, 25% peat, 25% soil and fertiliser, which together add exactly the right ingredients to the soil for premium grass growth. Gently scarify the lawn with a wire rake; this will remove any debris that has built up around the grass roots. Top-dress the lawn with Lawn Dressing, brushing it in with a stiff broom. This will improve the drainage and add a balanced fertiliser around the roots of your grass. If the lawn is thinning, or there are many bare patches then over sow the whole lawn with an appropriate lawn seed mixture to suit your lawn and the existing conditions. As the weather begins to warm up and the conditions are conducive to sowing seeds outside, it's a good time to sow a new lawn from seed and to repair bare patches in the lawn. The secret of a successful new lawn from seed is in the quality of the seed that you choose to use and the condition of the soil that you sow into. To get the very best results you need to prepare the site properly. Choose a suitable area and dig it over carefully. Remove any debris, stones and all the perennial weeds. Take time to dig out the weed roots as these will sprout into a new crop of weed plants if you leave them behind. If the soil is poor then improve it by adding Top Soil. Sandy soil will need a little extra help to retain soil moisture, so dig in Soil Conditioner, which will also improve the soil fertility. Rake over the area, breaking up big clumps of soil. Then level as thoroughly as possible. You can check the level by trailing a flat edged plank or ladder over the whole surface area to create a smooth sowing surface, and reveal lumps and bumps in the surface. Firm the soil down by walking over it with close steps, this will reveal any hollows that will need to be filled. Add more Top Soil until the ground is completely level. Rake the soil surface to create a fine seedbed. Ideally allow this to rest for at least a week. Any weed seedlings that have germinated can be eliminated by using a suitable weed killer or by hoeing off with a hoe. Mark out the area into square metres using canes, this will make sowing the seed much easier. The Westland Lawn Seed range has an inbuilt applicator in every box so it is easy to sow the seed. Simply open the box, empty the bag of seed into the empty box and tear off the strip down the side of the box to reveal the sowing holes. You need to sow 35g per square metre. Take half this amount and scatter it over one metre square in one direction, then scatter the remaining half at right angles, this will ensure good coverage. Once you have applied seed to a one metre section, you can see the density of the seed and copy this using the applicator box for each subsequent metre. Keep the developing lawn well watered. Allow the grass to grow unchecked until it reaches 1-2 inches high. If it is a small area it can then be lightly trimmed with grass shears. Larger areas should be gently cut with a rotary mower, set on its highest cutting height. Recut the lawn edges with a half moon edging iron. When the grass is healthy, free from weeds and moss, and growing vigorously apply Lawn Feed to support this growth. Strong healthy grass will be better able to compete with weeds and moss. Beds and Borders Pot up Dahlia tubers, Begonia corms and rooted cuttings and keep in a frost-free environment until the last frost has passed. When the soil is moist and crumbly and has warmed up from a little spring sunshine you can start sowing annual bedding plants in their flowering positions in the garden. If you are new to gardening it may be better to sow them into pots of Seed & Cutting Compost or John Innes Seed Compost as these are formulated to give the seeds the very best possible start. Many experienced gardeners will only use the loam based John Innes composts and the seed compost is perfect for raising seeds. The Seed & Cutting Compost is a peat-based compost that has been specially mixed with horticultural sand to ensure good contact with your seeds and to speed germination. Don't be tempted into putting out half-hardy bedding plants into the garden. A warm spell can be very encouraging; especially to beginner gardeners, but at this time of year a cold snap won't be far away. If your plants are shooting early they may need a little additional protection. Place a layer of horticultural fleece over any plants that are unexpectedly beginning to develop strong spring growth, especially if a frost threatens. Keep an eye on any new plants in the garden and be sure to water them if the weather is dry. They need time to establish a good root system before they can fend for themselves in a dry spell. Dead head any early spring flowers and bulbs as they die off. Feed the plants after flowering with Growmore or Feed-all Soluble Plant Food or Feed-all Concentrated Plant Food so that the plants can build up the bulb for next years' flowers. Don't be tempted to cut off the leaves of bulbs that have flowered, simply bend over the foliage to ground level and allow them to dry out and wither naturally. The leaves manufacture essential food reserves to ensure that the bulbs can over winter and flower again next spring. Divide overcrowded perennial plants and replant the pieces around the garden using Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes or John Innes Compost No3. Plant Gladioli corms and Lily bulbs around the garden borders using Bulb Planting Compost. It contains added grit to keep the soil around the bulbs well drained and so helps to avoid fungal problems caused by waterlogged soils. Keep a watch out for early pests such as aphids and slugs and use your preferred method of control. Pots and Containers Check on overwintering patio plants such as Geraniums and Fuchsias. It's too early to put them outside but they may be sprouting new growth that is perfect for taking cuttings. Pot the plants up into fresh compost such as John Innes No3 and start to water them gently, ensuring that they are not too wet and not allowed to dry out either. Keep a look out for early signs of pests and disease that may affect these plants, especially in a greenhouse and use your favourite control method to deal with them. Likely problems are greenfly, whitefly, slugs and botrytis. Outdoor containers may still need watering, check the soil and compost first and add water if they feel dry. Containerised trees and shrubs should be fed using a suitable plant food such as Feed-all Slow Release Plant Food, choose the granular option for flexible feeding. When the container compost has been thoroughly moistened, mulch over the top with Mini Chipped Bark or Cocoa Shell to conserve soil moisture and keep the containers looking neat and tidy. These ornamental mulches have finer pieces than other mulches and look more to scale when used to mulch containers. Plants that have outgrown their pots should be repotted now before they spring into growth. Use Tub & Basket Compost as it contains a special water retaining gel that reduces the need for frequent watering and holds the moisture in the compost around the plant roots. Incorporate Feed-all Slow Release Granular Plant Food into the compost to provide your plants with a constant feed for the rest of the season. Alternatively just push the appropriate number of Feed-all Slow Release Tablets into the surrounding compost, which are designed for use in patio pots and containers. If you are growing your container plants from seed then make sure you sow them now so they are established by early June. Alternatively take cuttings of existing plants or visit the garden centre and choose some contrasting plants for containers. Make sure you have the correct facilities to protect your plants when you have got them home. Plant a few spring container displays to brighten up dull areas of the garden. Look out for spring bedding plants and flowering bulbs in pots at the garden centre that can be planted in containers and placed in strategic places around the garden. Fill your containers with Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes and plant directly into this. Planting a Patio Pot Summer container displays and hanging baskets can be planted during April but must be thoroughly protected so that they can grow and develop without the risk of a cold snap. Plant them up with small basket ready plants and keep them in a light, frost free place to grow on until after the last frosts. Planting a Hanging Basket Seeds and Cuttings Take softwood cuttings of Fuchsias, Geraniums and other over-wintered plants. Alternatively purchase one or two well-grown plants now and take plenty of cuttings to grow on into flowering plants this season. Use a quality cuttings compost such as Seed & Cutting Compost, or John Innes No 1. If you haven't already done so, it's safe to start sowing seeds. For sowing seed direct into the borders choose hardy annuals such as nasturtiums, calendula, Californian poppies, sunflowers, cornflowers, Virginian stocks, poppies and wildflower mixtures. Rake the soil to a fine, crumbly surface and draw patterns of shallow drills in the surface, line the base with Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes, water gently and then sprinkle the seed thinly on top. Cover over with more compost. Half-hardy annuals and half-hardy perennials are not tough enough to withstand the cold and cannot be sown straight into the borders yet. They may be sown in pots on the windowsill, in propagators or in a frost-free greenhouse. Good ones to try are Antirrhinum, begonia, coreopsis, cosmos, pelargonium, impatiens, ipomea, marigold, Nicotiana, petunia and penstemon. If you are new to gardening and haven't yet plucked up the courage to sow plants from seed, then look out for pots of seedlings in the garden centres this month. They are too delicate to plant out into the garden this month, but you can buy a pot full and prick them out into individual pots or modules to grow on, on a sunny windowsill. Pricking Out Sow annual flower seeds such as Ageratum, bedding Salvias, Tagetes, Diascia, annual Stocks, Nemesia, Nicotiana, annual Phlox and bedding Rudbeckia in pots in gentle heat. Ericaceous Plants It
is important to feed acid-loving plants now with Ericaceous Concentrated
Plant Food. Dilute in water and apply liberally around the roots
of your plants. If the soil is dry water the ground thoroughly first.
These plants need to be boosted to develop flower buds for next
season and to support this year's flowers. Don't forget to use Ericaceous
plant food to feed pieris, acers and other plants that prefer lime
free soil. Often the soil they are growing in is slightly alkaline,
so it is important to acidify their root zone and supply them with
an easily assimilated fertiliser. Top-dress around all acid loving plants such as Pieris, Heathers, Rhododendrons and Azaleas with Ericaceous Compost. House Plants Repot root bound houseplants using Indoor Plant Compost. It contains added perlite to improve the drainage around the roots and open up the structure of the compost. Top-dress other houseplants with Indoor Plant Compost. Houseplants that have been resting over the winter period can now be fed to support their spring growth. Use Feed-all Plant Food and choose the ready to use formulation for quick and easy results. It is high in nitrogen to encourage strong and healthy foliage and has a generous proportion of phosphate to support the development of roots, which is essential if you have repotted your plants, plus enough potash to keep flowering plants blooming all season. Feeding As the weather starts to warm up many plants are bursting into growth. Early spring bulbs will already have built their food reserves for this year's display so delay feeding until they have finished flowering. This will help to boost the bulbs and help them build up food reserves for next years' flowers. Trees and shrubs will benefit from an early spring feed to support strong and healthy growth. Use Growmore for a general balanced feed: it is granular so can be sprinkled around the base of your plants. Organic gardeners can opt for Fish, Blood & Bone plant food or Bone Meal plant food; both are ideal for use all around the garden for established and new plants. Follow the instructions on the pack. For more targeted feeding choose a plant food specially formulated for your plants from the extensive Westland Garden Health range. For example Rose Plant Food is specially formulated for roses, trees and shrubs and is a particularly good choice for flowering shrubs. Feed the lawn when it spurts into its spring growth with Lawn Feed. Apply with a Spreader for fast and accurate application. If weeds and moss are a problem then use the combined Lawn Feed, Weed and Moss Killer product that feeds the lawn and deals with these problems too. Don't be tempted to feed newly raised seedlings and cuttings until they get a bit bigger. If you use Seed & Cutting Compost or John Innes Seed Compost to grow seeds and cuttings, the compost contains everything your protégés need for the first few weeks of growth. The tiny root hairs on these developing plants are very susceptible to scorching from fertilisers, so let them establish before treating them to your favourite plant food. Flowerbeds and borders can be fed using Feed-all Slow Release plant food. This finely tuned fertiliser is designed to regulate the rate that nutrients are delivered to your plants, so that it encourages the correct rate of growth according to the environmental conditions; and it keeps feeding them for up to 6 months of the year. Simply work it into the soil around your plant roots or add it to the planting compost when you plant. Container plants need plenty of food to keep them in tip-top condition. Several plants growing in a container will quickly use up the fertiliser held in the compost. For the best results you need to feed them regularly throughout the growing season. Use Feed-all Slow Release plant food tablets. These convenient clusters of slow release fertiliser are specially designed for pots and containers and actually regulate the rate that nutrients are delivered to your plants, encouraging the correct rate of growth according to the environmental conditions. Simply push the tablets into the compost to give your plants everything they need for a great start and ongoing support for the rest of the season too. Feed Ericaceous plants with Ericaceous Concentrated Plant Food. Often the soil they are growing in is alkaline, so it is important to acidify their root zone and supply them with an easily assimilated fertiliser. Use Ericaceous Concentrated Plant Food, it has a low pH which helps to unlock essential nutrients from the soil, and it also contains iron that alleviates plant chlorosis (yellowing leaves) and helps provide these special plants with just the right diet to suit their needs and perform to their full potential. Soil Matters The secret to healthy garden plants is predominantly in the soil. Get the soil right and the rest is much easier. If your garden soil is poor or depleted from active plant growth then improve it using one of the specially formulated soil improvers from Westland. For example Top Soil or the new Premium Garden Soil are both carefully selected soil with a high content of organic matter, vital for healthy soil. Premium Garden soil has added fertiliser so it is ideal for planting specimen garden plants such as Topiary sculptures. Both formulations are great for new beds and borders, rockeries and for replacing existing soil. Farmyard Manure is ideal for conditioning the soil and adds vital nutrients and water holding organic matter to garden areas where heavy feeders deplete soil nutrients quickly such as the vegetable plot or rose beds. Organic gardeners can opt for Organic Garden Compost or Soil Conditioner to improve the soil and add vital structure and organic matter to support healthy plant growth. When planting herbaceous perennials and garden shrubs and roses, you can improve the immediate area around your plants by using a quality planting compost and mixing this with the surrounding soil. Use Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes. It combines the excellent physical properties of a quality multi-purpose compost, with the practical advantages of a loam based compost. The result is a versatile compost with a healthy, open structure that promotes good drainage. Added perlite improves the texture and creates the optimum air/moisture ratio for your plants. The inclusion of John Innes makes this a truly superior compost that is easier to manage and maintain because it retains water and added nutrients for longer.
When the ground is wet after a heavy rain shower it's a good time to apply a mulch. Make sure the soil is really wet right down into the ground, so that the mulch conserves soil moisture. Water Gardening If you use a heater in your pond over winter then it can be removed and replaced with a pond pump. Clean the heater and ensure that it is in good condition so that it will work when needed next winter. The pump will circulate the water, adding vital oxygen for the fish and can also be connected to a fountain or waterfall fitting for an ornamental effect. As the fish become more active be sure to feed them with a high quality food that is rich in nutrients and low in waste, this will help to keep the water clear and ensure that the fish remain healthy. Order new pond plants if the pond is a little bare, but don't plant them until all danger of frost has passed.
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