Garden Info and Tips for Zone 6
What to do When
JANUARY/FEBRUARY
What you can do these months:
● Leaf removal
● Moving rock and soil, if unfrozen
● Building structures
● Order from catalogues
● Inventory leftover seeds and toss those more that a few years old
● Start seeds indoors
MARCH
● Clean-up Remove leaves from borders, being careful not to step on emerging bulbs or perennials. Remove any dead perennial foliage you let in place over the winter. Remove dead ornamental grasses, preferably before March 15 so as not to damage newly emerging foliage. Liriope should be given a haircut if it's brown or damaged by winter
● Pruning None of these necessarily need pruning but if you do prune, March is the best time to prune summer- or fall-blooming shrubs like roses, spireas, also nandina, euonymus, hollies, pyracantha, laurels, and late-blooming hydrangeas like Tardiva or Oakleaf (Mophead and lacecap hydrangeas don't need pruning unless they're too large but should be pruned immediately after blooming, if pruned at all.) Deadwood can be removed from shrubs and tress anytime.
● Start seeds indoors
● Lawn Care For sunny lawns with a history of crabgrass, apply preemergent crabgrass killer when the dogwoods bloom. Application when the forsythia bloom is no longer recommended - too early. If you're also seeding this spring, use a crab grass treatment like Tupersan or any other product specially designed to allow the germination of seed, or plant grass seed three weeks after application of the herbicide. Spring is not the best time to fertilize your lawn - it promotes weak and excessive blade growth at the expense of roots, and causes the greatest damage to the Chesapeake Bay. If your lawn really needs fertilizer this spring, an organic , slow-release fertilizer is much less likely to cause these problems. Seeding of lawns is best done in August-September, but you can also seed in the spring.
● Tree care If snow has left conifers bent over, stake tem now and try removing stakes after two moths to see if the plant has righted itself.
● Planting March is a fine time to plant anything that's hardy to freezing temperatures, as long as the ground's not frozen. However, most plants aren't available in nurseries until at least April;
● Plant dividing Divide ornamental grasses, as needed (usually every 3-5 years), also summer or fall blooming perennials like sedum (if sedum got so big they flopped over last season)
● General Care. Sometime in late winter or early spring after perennials are cut back, apply 1 to 2 inches of compost, leaf mold or Leafgro to beds and at the base of trees (but keep compost away from the trunks of trees and shrubs!)
If scale, fungus or insect nest were seen last season, spray affected plants with dormant horticultural oil as soon as temperatures remain above 50 degrees during the day. Spraying now reduces the need for treatments during the growing season and is kinder to the environment.
● Vegetable Gardens Prepare for spring planting as soon as ground is friable by rototilling 7-8" deep, adding liberal amounts of compost and manure, fertilizing those areas to be planted immediately with 5-10-5. Sow cool season vegetables and herbs.
APRIL
● Lawn Care Use slow release organic fertilizer if lawn wasn't fertilized last fall. Also good time to apply high calcium lime to raise the Ph.
● Trees/Shrubs Early April, prune deciduous trees and shrubs, except those that bloom in spring and early summer. Cut back buddleias and caryotpteris shrubs to 12-18" There's disagreement over whether April or September are the best times to plant trees and shrubs, but both are excellent times and now is a much better time to plant than after it gets really warm in May or later.
● Perennials Put cages or other support around peonies as they emerge. Divide or move existing perennials and plant new ones now before they get too large and temperatures get hot. Chop down dead foliage of ornament grasses if it wasn't done in March. Plant new ornamental grasses and round covers. Keep trak of what's planted where. Especially if you exchange plants, take the time to put some sort of plant label on or near the new plant. Often if it's an unfamiliar plant, I may forget where I put it, not recognize it next spring and think it's a weed.
● General Care Mulch your borders if you didn't do it last month, 1 to2 inches being careful not to put any mulch against the trunks of trees or shrubs.
MAY through August
General Growing Season Gardening Jobs
● Watering is one of the 2 primary tasks for gardeners from May until it cools down in the fall, especially if you want plants you've bought or moved this spring to survive their first summer. Plants in pots and hanging baskets require frequent watering , often daily, plus fertilizer twice a month until mid-summer. It's the duty of every gardener to notice rainfall or the lack thereof and water during periods of sustained drought. But don't be fooled by those worthless thunderstorms; only rains that soak the ground count. Weeding it the other primary gardening task during the growing season. if you mulched last moth the job will be easier. Weeding is easier when the ground wet. Weed early and often. Don't let that weed get to the flower or seed stage!
● Shrubs Prune azaleas after flowering if they're too large Deadhead spent rhododendron blossoms to promote next rear's flowering pinching them off at their base and being careful not to damage the emerging new growth. deadhead spent lilac, likewise to promote next year's flowering
● Annuals should be planted outdoors after May 1, our latest average from day. Feed with liquid fertilizers twice a month through the season
● Perennials Cut down late-blooming perennials by half for denser flowering, shorter height, prevention of flopping or the need to stake. Likely candidates are; asters, sedum 'Autumn Joy' in less than full sun, purple coneflowers, mums, obedient plant, salvia and campanula. Do this once more around Memorial Day, but definitely no later than July 4. Mums are often cut back three time in total between early May and early July.
● Lawns Set your mower to 3-4 inches, the higher the better, and cut frequently enough so that no more than 1/3 of the blade is cut at each mowing, for better turf health.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER
● Fertilizer, fungicides and insecticides. Don't apply them during the dog days (over 80 degrees) it could do more harm than good, and whatever the temperature, don't apply them to plants stressed by lack of water, so you may need to water thoroughly first.
● Watering Spring blooming woody plants are setting seed now, so make sure they're watered. and by late August , most plants are storing water for the winter and benefit from weekly watering (deep watering at the base of the plant). Any perennial planted this year needs weekly watering in August and through the fall, as well.
● On vacation? Move pots to a shady spot, and get someone to water them while your gone. Planting in August wait out the 90 degree spells before planting, and waiting for a cloudy day is best, or at least do the work in the evening. Water well and check at lease twice weekly.
● General
● Late August is a goodtime to dig and divide daylilies and irises
Whole Garden September is the best time to assess your whole garden for changes and additions
Fall Cleanup can start in September by cutting off flower stalks and ugly or diseases foliage. Leave seed heads on black-eyed Susan's for the birds
Fall annuals Late September into October is a good time to buy pansies and mums, which both need at least half a day of sun.