Gardening by the Moon Weekend To-Do
An idea as old as agriculture, based both folklore and superstition but there are scientific ideas to back it up.
- Saturday-Sunday: Moon in the sign of Capricorn - Prune and fertilize
- March is the month to switch from the winter fertilizer, 0-10-10, to Azaleas Camellias and Rhododendron Food on shade-loving plants. However, if your plants are still in bud or bloom, you can wait another month.
- It’s not \ too late to prune roses and fruit trees, even with the trees blooming and the new growth emerging.
Later in the Week
- Tuesday-Wednesday: Moon in the sign of Aquarius - Harvest and weed
- When planting leaf lettuce, there is no need to wait until the heads mature before harvesting. After three weeks, you can continuously remove the outer one to two rows of leaves until the plants go to seed
- Thursday-Friday: Moon in the sign of Pisces - Plant, prune, water, compost, fertilize
- Now is the time to prune Pyracantha for the fall berry crop. When pruned before the new growth flushes, the berries will form on the plant's main sections instead of on the long arching and sometimes leggy branches.
- Mexican Sage, all varieties of Penstemon, and ornamental grasses should be cut off at ground level. Each year, these plants develop their new growth from the plant's base, not from lateral shoots.
Other Things To-do
- Before arranging flowering stems and branches from ornamental plants, you should split the bottom one inch and lightly crush the tissue with a hammer. This allows the branch to drink up the water. Remember to add a floral preservative to the water, or you can make your own: one tablespoon of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon bleach in one gallon of hot water.
- Keep the area under Camellia plants free of debris, including the old spent flowers. White and Pink varieties are susceptible to Camellia Petal Blight. Camellia Petal Blight causes the center of the flower to turn brown and rot. We have no chemical solutions. Good sanitation practices are our only method of prevention.