Gardening Calendar

Ornamentals

• Enjoy, but do not disturb the many wild. owers blooming in woodlands throughout Missouri.
• Week 1: Winter mulches should be removed from roses. Complete pruning promptly. Remove only dead wood from climbers at this time. Cultivate lightly, working in some compost or other organic matter.
• Weeks 1-2: Examine shrubs for winter injury. Prune all dead and weakened wood.
• Weeks 1-3: When crabapples are in bloom, hardy annuals may be transplanted outdoors.
• Week 4: Begin planting out summer bulbs such as caladiums, gladioulus and acidanthera at 2 week intervals.

Fruits

• Week 1: Remove tree wraps from fruit trees now.
• Weeks 1-2: Prune peaches and nectarines now. Leaf rollers are active on apple trees. Control as needed.
• Weeks 3-4: Orange, jelly-like galls on cedar trees spread rust diseases to apples, crabapples and hawthorns.

Vegetables

• Weeks 1-2: Plastic films can be used to pre-heat the soil where warm season vegetables are to be grown.
• Weeks 2-4: Try an early sowing of warm-season crops such as green beans, summer squash, sweet corn, New Zealand spinach and cucumbers.
• Weeks3-4: Begin planting lima beans, cucumbers, melons, okra and watermelons.
  Begin setting out transplants of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and sweet potatoes.

Lawn and Turf

• Start mowing cool season grasses at recommended heights.
• Weeks 1-2: Aerate turf if thatch is heavy or if soil is compacted. Topdress low spots and . nish overseeding thin or bare patches.