April, come she will

STEVE KAWARATANI

“Nothing is poetical if plain daylight is not poetical.... “

--G. K. Chesterton

“Daylight Saving Time is achieved by advancing the clock one

hour.”

--The World Almanac

The crack of dawn is my favorite time of the day. At the hint of

first light, Ollie and I spring out of bed. “Sleep when you die!”

echoes in my head, as I make my way toward the shower and Ollie meows

insistently for his breakfast. We may not actually be poetry in

motion, but we love the morning and just can’t wait to get it

started.

April stirs a gardener’s blood with a host of gardening

opportunities in Laguna -- the largest selection of flowers,

vegetables, shrubs and trees are available this month. With the rain

finally done, your favorite nursery is literally overflowing with

tempting spring bloomers, guaranteed to make your garden beautiful.

Read on, and let’s get back to the garden with the Plant Man.

Q. What is that orange stuff on my rose leaves?

A. Rose rust is a fungus that appears on the underside of the

leaves first. The onset of moderate temperatures and the presence of

moisture allow the spores to infest roses. Spray either Funginex or

Orthonex at seven-day intervals for best control. Keep the ground

beneath your roses raked up and clean.

Q. Plant Man, what’s the best annual color now?

A. I would recommend planting ranunculus, primroses, pansy, viola,

snapdragon, cosmos, phlox, and bedding begonias for brilliant color

in April.

Q. Is it time to plant vegetables?

A. Vegetable planting is well underway. Seeds of most kinds may be

sown now, such as beets, carrots, corn, lettuce, peas, and radishes.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant may be found from

starters.

Q. Mr. Plant Man, should I prune my fuchsias?

A. David P. has begun to prune his fuchsias, so I guess it’s OK.

Prune them to make them bushier this month and to stimulate new

growth.

Q. I forgot to fertilize last month. Am I too late?

A. Absolutely not. But the sooner you do so, the quicker your

plants will benefit.

Q. Mr. Plant Man, how do I get rid of scale on my indoor palm?

A. Scale is an insidious problem. I generally recommend moving the

plant outdoors and using a highly refined oil spray like Ultra Fine.

If it is impossible to move the plant, repeated application of an

indoor plant insecticide may eventually work. Don’t let this one get

out of control and remember to spray the underside of the fronds.

Q. Hi, Plant Man. Will daylight saving time have an effect on my

plants?

A. Only that your plants will have more attention from you,

because you’ll have an additional hour of daylight for evening

gardening!

I’m never happy when we spring forward for daylight saving time.

It will be dark again when I begin my day. However, the benefit of

more usable daylight hours for outdoors activities with Catharine is

compelling. And I’ll actually have time to plant my tomatoes this

weekend and hurl a few more snails onto the pavement. See you next

time.

* STEVE KAWARTANI is happily married to local writer Catharine

Cooper and has two cats. He can be reached at (949) 497-2438, or

e-mail to landscapes@ln.cox atwork.co.