Falls Church Garden Club

Since 1950, in Falls Church, Virginia

Seasonal Gardening Tasks

Information above excerpted from the American Horticultural Society  Gardening Manual,  copyright 2000, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc.

  Early Spring - March

–Prune established climbers and wall shrubs

–Prune Group 2 and 3 clematis

–Final pruning of roses

–Final pruning of established deciduous shrubs that flower on the current season’s growth

–Plant hardy perennials

–Plant bare-root roses

–Plant bare-root deciduous trees

–Sow seeds of hardy annuals and hardy annual herbs outdoors

–Sow seeds of tender and half hardy annuals and herbs and of perennials indoors

–Divide perennials

–Deadhead spring flowering plants as soon as the flowers fade

 

 

  Mid-Spring - April

–Prune evergreen climbers and wall shrubs

–Prune evergreen shrubs

–Plant shrubs and climbers, including clematis

–Plant hardy perennials

–Thin perennials that form clumps while they are still small

–Take softwood cuttings from climbers and shrubs

–Deadhead daffodils, but leave foliage at least six weeks

–Mulch beds and borders

–Apply slow release fertilizer

 

   Late Spring - May

–Prune established deciduous shrubs that flower on previous year’s growth, but not before flowering

–Plant perennials

–Plant out seedlings of tender annuals

–Train climbers and roses onto supports

–Thin overgrown Group 1 clematis

–Deadhead flowering plants

–Finish mulching

–Keep an eye out for pests and diseases

–To preserve tulips, lift bulbs when leaves are yellow and store in paper bag in a warm, dry place