Garden Tasks for APRIL in Acadiana: By Dan Weintritt and friends

Created for use by the Louisiana Native Plant Society with the Acadiana Native Plant Project. Made in the style of Dan Gill's Month by Month Gardening in Louisiana, Cool Springs Press, Copyright 1999, 2006

APRIL - To Do

• Hollow, dead, stems of herbaceous perennials and grasses can be removed now, if they haven't been, already. Overwintering insects will have had enough warm weather by now to emerge from their winter homes.

• Any seedlings that were started in trays or pots in winter can be planted now. Sowing can be done directly in the garden now, especially for plants that can continue blooming into summer and fall, such as common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea), annual Verbena (aka Rose Vervain, Glandularia canadensis), Firewheel (Gaillairdia pulchella), and Prairie Gentian (Eustoma exaltatum).

• Perennial Hibiscus (H. coccineus, H. moscheutos, etc.) can be pinched beginning now several times when they reach 10-12" tall. Pinching the tip above a set of side leaves a couple of times now will result in much fuller plants with much more side branching, allowing for more flowering and less floppy plants.

• Seeds forming on Louisiana Iris can be removed and discarded now, if they are not wanted to be replanted. Seed set on Iris can greatly affect next year's bloom. If seeds are desired for harvest and planting, always select a few individual pods to leave behind to ripen, and remove others.

• As perennials emerge, it is a good time to take softwood cuttings of their stems. This is an especially good method of propagation for herbaceous plants. 6-8" stem ends should have all side leaves removed, and placed in sterile potting media, with the bottom half to third of the stem in the soil. Use rooting hormone if desired. Ensure that soil is pressed firmly to the stem, and that the cutting is kept moist and never dries out. 

• Native gardens tend to favor using the right plants for your soil type, rather than amending beds with fertilizer, but plants in pots will appreciate half-sttrength doses of fertilizer every couple of weeks, especially now as they are growing vigorously.

• Butterfly activity should really be picking up. Look for eggs and baby caterpillars on larval host plants. If you do not have host plants in your garden, consider adding some. Plant and insect life creates the foundational food source for the whole zoological community of life on land. Our gardens are not grown just for beauty, but to be a habitat for these wonderful creatures.

• Consider staking or caging larger floppy plants now, before they are large and unruly. Rattlesnake Master, perennial sunflowers, and Ironweed come to mind. A tomato cage placed over the emerging plant will allow it to grow through the wires and support itself when it becomes heavy with blooms.