After our unusual winter, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at this amazing spring. March was very much like May for us. Everything started growing because of the lengthening days and the unusually warm weather. Here in north central Connecticut in mid-April, we would normally be pruning our roses now and the forsythia would just be finishing its annual bloom. Instead, where I live, the roses already have some buds on them and the lilacs are in bloom! In the beginning of the month, real April weather arrived and we had a night that froze our roses with 23 degrees. It’s been steadily warming up since then, but most of us have some leaves that show that freezing damage-they became crispy-critters and crunched off the plants.

Early Spring

The problem with spring jumping in so fast is that it becomes very difficult to get our roses pruned out properly. With this much growth, pruning requires a lot of crawling about on hands and knees and peering up into the mass of bunched up foliage. When we do our spring trimming, we like to prune out the center of the bushes to increase air circulation. We like to cut out canes that are crossing to promote the health of our roses. When the wind blows, crossing canes can injure themselves with their prickles the same as they can injure our fingers. Poked canes give entry spots for diseases, too. Long story short is that pruning is taking longer than normal this year, but it still needs to be done.

Drought

Another problem facing all of us in this part of the country this April is drought. All of New England is suffering from lack of precipitation. Usually this time of year we don’t have to spend time watering, but leaf bud break takes a lot of moisture. This comes from last year’s stored energy in the canes. If the moisture is not replaced from the root zone, our roses can dehydrate and die. Roses need at least an inch of rain per week, and if it doesn’t fall from the heavens, then we need to supplement it while we can with our trusty watering wand.

Whew! There sure is a lot of stuff to do this April! The soil has warmed up enough so that it is time to begin our fertilizing program, too. One great thing about being a gardener is our feel for what our gardens need. That is something that comes from the heart and not from a book. Open your eyes and you will see what needs to be done. Rejoice in your green cathedral! “…one is nearer God’s heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth!”