Shopping for New Plants
This is the time of year we really get the gardening bug. I would wait until closer to the end of this month to do much by way of garden cleanup and new plantings to avoid having to cover things up. If you do have some plants out, you need to cover them up when temperatures go back down to near freezing. April 25th is the average last spring frost date for most of southeast Nebraska, so we can start to shop for new plants to fill in where there are gaps in the garden or where some from last year didn’t live. When we go to the garden center or plant sale, be sure to pick the right plant for the job.
Plant a Tree for Arbor Day
Trees are so important to our lives! They provide us with many wonderful benefits including clean, fresh air, many fruits and nuts to eat, beauty, and shade. Arbor Day is a day to celebrate trees and to plant new trees, because we can always use more trees in our world. Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April which fell on April 28th this year. Just because we are past Arbor Day doesn’t mean you can’t still plant trees, they are fine planted well into May. Arbor Day is just a guideline for tree planting.
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Planting Vegetable GardensDon’t put vegetable plants out too soon in the garden. Check the soil temperature to determine if it is the correct time for our plants, go.unl.edu/soiltemperature.
| Evergreen Winter Injury We are seeing a lot of winter injury to our evergreens this spring. This includes trees and shrubs that are brown and look bad in general. There isn’t much that we can do to correct the damage, but watering can help. This damage is due to the drought we are still facing. Ensure that trees are receiving a slow trickle irrigation for 45 minutes to an hour every week or 2 or weekly as the temperatures increase, for shrubs, you only need to irrigate for 20-30 minutes each time. Wait until later in May to prune out any dead areas, there is still time for them to green back up or shoot new growth. Do not fertilize these stressed plants at this time. | Crabgrass Control Crabgrass typically germinates when the soil temperature is at about 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit, it is now time to get yours out. Even if some plants germinated before, it will be low in population and easy to manage with post emergent herbicides. April into early May is also a great month to overseed your lawn. Don’t use crabgrass preventer if you recently overseeded or if you plan to overseed yet this spring. Don’t use herbicides on newly seeded turf until you have mowed three times. |
Planting Vegetable Gardens
Don’t put vegetable plants out too soon in the garden. Check the soil temperature to determine if it is the correct time for our plants, go.unl.edu/soiltemperature.
- 50 degrees: beets, chard, onions, parsley, and turnips
- 60 degrees: beans, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes
- 70 degrees: okra, melons, pumpkins, and squash
Evergreen Winter Injury
Crabgrass Control
Spring Plants
Spring is here and we are starting to see some activity in our landscapes. There are some great plants starting to green up and you might even be seeing some things bloom already.
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