By Dan Weintritt and Friends
Adapted from Month-by-Month Gardening in Louisiana by Dan Gill
This is the final month for ideal transplanting of cold hardy trees, shrubs, and perennials. Those that are planted later than early March will need additional irrigation throughout their first summer.
Seeds can be sown directly outdoors, in the garden or in trays. Seedlings started indoors can be brought outside to acclimate to cool outdoor weather. Plant when the last change of frost has passed (usually March 15th for South Louisiana, April 1st for North Louisiana).
Plants are starting to grow vigorously now; supply additional water to new transplants now through April, as needed. New seedlings may require water more than once a day. Move trays to an area of morning sun and afternoon shade to prevent wilting.
Cool season weeds should be removed completely to prevent the spread of seed, reducing the amount of invasives next winter.
Warm season weeds are starting to wake up now. If you use them, selective herbicides (such as grass killers) will be more effective now as perennial weeds are breaking dormancy than they will be later in summer. Use pre-emergent herbicides to prevent a return of especially nasty annual weeds, like the non-native chamberbitter. Hand pulling is also a foolproof strategy, of course.
Continue to monitor scale insects that might be damaging trees, and watch out for snails and slugs invading gardens. All life is valuable, but rampant infestations of these insects are not natural, and will be more troublesome for those with new gardens who have not yet established an equilibrium of predators and prey. Snails can be removed simply by setting out several trays of cheap beer on the ground near your garden plants, and throwing out any snails and slugs that have been caught each morning.
Be ready to protect tender, new growth for the occasional hard freezes at this time. Frost blankets work great, and can be removed the morning after a freeze when the sun has come up. Lightly misting foliage the night before a freeze, or early in the morning (a sprinkler set with a timer for 2-3 a. m. is very effective) is often enough to reduce damage to fresh shoots and buds.
Fertilizing is best done this month, if needed. In the native plant community, it is preferred to find plants suitable to an area that would not require fertilizer, but it can be helpful to give a boost to plants that have suffered, or have recently been planted or moved. Many organic fertilizers now have the inoculated spores of mycorrhizal fungi that build a healthy and dynamic soil ecosystem that helps new gardens reach functional self-sufficiency more quickly.
If mulch is used in the garden, this is the time to ensure sufficient coverage to prevent infestations of summer invasives.
Spontaneous natives such as blue-eyed grass and lyreleaf sage are starting to bloom now; mow around them to allow them to set seed, or hold off mowing until later in the year, if possible. A strip of well-mowed lawn at the street edge is enough to keep neighbors happy, usually.
Evergreen trees and shrubs may have yellowing leaves now. This is natural, and is simply the plant preparing to shed old leaves and put out new growth. No action is required, and evergreens should not be trimmed until they have finished their spring flush of growth, usually in April or May.
Look for hummingbirds to start to migrate into our area, and observe what plants they are feeding on. If you do not have a lot in bloom, consider putting out a feeder for the season.
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