22 — Sunday, April 12, 1998 — North Shore News APRIL can be one of the busiest months of the year for gardeners. However, this being an Ei Nino year, everything is about two weeks ahead of schedule. T have a rhododendron that normaliy shows its first color abour April 5 but this year the first bloom started to open on March 22. Some of your spring gar- den jobs may have been com- pleted but others will be moved up to meet the carly season: By this time vou should have applied dolomite lime to your lawn. De-tharching a lawn is a good way to remove the build-up of dead grass and moss thar has grown over the - winter. I prefer to use the light weight “Mantis” rather than z heavy flail type machine that can scalp the lawn. Applying moss killer after de- -thatching will kill off the residue moss and prevent it from regrowing should we have a wet summer. Lawns thar are subject to high traffic benefit from core aeration and top. dressing, _ particularly where the top soil {5 thin. The ‘grass will -grow and thicken up with the use of a high-nitrogen, slow-release "fertilizer: Remember, a healthy well-fed lawn has a better chance of competing with weeds. If weeds become a problem try removing them by. hand. before “selectively” spraying with a liquid weed killer. ~ Roy Sow it SVOWS Roses have come into active growth very carly this year bur it will do them no great harm to be pruned even if they are in leaf. Be sure to clean up all the ald leaf and blossom debris around the plant. and remove all of last year’s leaves that are still on the cancs. Old leaves and debris help to transfer fungus from year to year. Once the plants are cleaned and pruned it is important to spray all surfaces of the canes and the surround:ng ground with a fungicide such as Funginex. Most insects and caterpil- lars can be cither washed off with a hose or picked off by hand. {f you must spray with an insecticide, be sure to do it carly in the morning or late in the evening when the benefi- cial bugs are not flying. Roses are heavy feeders and they need a layer of com- Post or manure. around their base. A handful of Nutricote or rose fertilizer per plant will get them off to a good start. It may be too late co divide some perennials but if they are not too advanced there is still north shore news (GARDENING Nay flowers require April t hours NEWS photo M‘ke Wakefield CUT all three sides of your broadleaf hedges such as laure!, above, and they will turn green quickly. time to split old clumps and replant only the new outer growth. Remember, some plants such as iris should be done after they bloom, and ponies not uneil late August. A good layer of compost mulch wili:not only feed plants but will aiso help to ‘hold the moisture during the summer, Check che garden shops for new. varieties to add to your collection. Large bulbs should be dead-headed as soon as the flowers fade to prevent the formation of seed heads. Leave the foliag- intact until the top quarter of the leaves turn yellow. All bulbs need to -produce a good supply of food for next year or they may not flower. Do not tie the leaves of your daffodils! If you plan to plant sum- mer bulbs or tubers such as begonias, cannas, dahlias and giadioli it is best to pot them up carly. I start my begorias and cannas around March | in pots to have them ready to transplant abour the middle of May. With dahlias and glads | count back three weeks from the time I want to plant them and then put them in trays of damp peat to root. They will be easy to transplant after the returns to the North Shore. Consider This Your Wake-up Call. ‘It's a fast paced world and you want to keep up. But for you, luxury cars have had all the appeal of a big yawn. Unti! now. Audi's back on the North Shore with three of the hottest luxury models. Touring Sedans, Quattro, ; Tiptronic, Adrenaline. “And they're here‘at your North Shore Audi Deaier. Been there and done that just don’t apply anymore. Po rd ‘Bveaww owt today weather warms up. Most broadleaf hedges such as laurel are beginning spriag growth and it isa good time to bring them back to a reasonable height and width. Cur all three sides at the same time and the hedge will green- up quickly. A light application of lawn fertilizer around the roots will speed up the initial growth. House plants that need repotting can be moved up one size. When you have pots that are already ac their masi- mum size, knock the plant out of the pot when the soil is fair- ly dry and shake or tease out as much of the old soil as pos- sible and then add fresh pot- ting soil. Start your plants on a regular feeding program for > the summer months using a quarter or half strength solu-.” tion. ~ Dusting the foliage with a dry cloth will make the leaves “raore efficient food producers. We are not likely to see any” more frost and this means . many of the early vegetables can be seeded. Pre-germinat- - ing them in the house and transplanting in the garden. generally gives better results for peas, spinach, lecks, let- tuce and cabbage. Radish, car- rots and parsnips arc best. sown directly in the ground.’ Any type of cold frame, a bugs, slugs and other undesir-” ables out of your planted area. ~~ Knowing -your plants and: what. they are susceptible to - will. make .it easier to spot: - trouble when it does arrive, 0: a slug on a plant: mean: ~ ~ there will be another one” Finding will probably there tomorrow, at least until. you have the area cleaned up. If this. list of jobs doesn’t keep you busy for the rest of : April, give me a call and [ will. think of some more. the YZ . "Yay The Bay. . Correction Notice In cur B3-1A CK Week flyer, Men's Calvin Nein belts: & small ‘eather goods on page 3 are not available at Coquitlam, ~Loughheed, Kamploops, Nanaimo, Penticton, Prince George, Veman. Hidden Fantasies on page 9; Norther Sgirt ced coat shown on page 25 willbe later - rainchecks will be available at the store. Secret multi-pack pantyhouse en page If Sale price for 2-packs is our everyday price. Save 25% offer on real clothes & variations on pagesz 25 & 2? is available on selected styles. Save 25% Classic Pooh on page 44 should have read “Save 25% Disney Pooh’ and should not - have shown the Classic Pooh logo. Stork Craft Lullabye crib on page 4 wal be substituted at the store, Nautica towels prices listed on page 50 teler tothe solid & stiped towels and not to the white logo towel shown in phoio. Governor's Table” TAPly open stock cookware on page 57 should have read "Our reg. 79.58 to 12998, Sale 3999 to 64.99 each’. Beaumark pewerhead vacuum, Samsung microwave oven, and Hoover vacuums. un page 61 should have read “4 Days Only! Wed,, Apr. 8 to Sat Apr, 11". Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused lon Ue ee meee ee: