April 21, 2026. Happy Earth Day! We are seeing serviceberry, magnolias blooming. Apple buds are at pink tip now to starting to bloom on early apples, pears & plums are blooming. If you want to put up a trap for codling moth to know how severe a problem you have, next week will likely be the start of bloom. These traps are only an indicator of how many moths you have, They do not help control the amount of worms in your apples.
You should be close to finishing your pruning now, but if you are not yet, prune on a dry day to avoid spreading disease. It’s to late to apply insect-preventative dormant oil and disease preventative sprays now.
The first aphids are hatching now. If aphids were a problem last year, you can spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil. Ash Leaf Curl Aphids are hatching and will soon be inside ash leaves. If you had problems with Ash leaf aphids curling Ash tree leaves last year, now is the time to treat for these aphids. The least-toxic option is neem oil or a mixture of insecticidal soap and pyrethrum. Spray ASAP – the spray window is very short. It is still possible to apply insecticide soil injections for ash aphid. The woolly-aphid stage of the spruce gall adelgid is present and eggs are starting to hatch now. If you had pine-cone like galls on spruce last year, you can spray these cottony, white aphids on alberta and blue spruce and on Doug fir when eggs start to hatch with insecticidal soap or permethrin.
Soil temperatures are averaging 48 degrees. It’s time to mow lawns. Compost is a good 1:1:1 N-P-K ratio fertilizer that also helps to suppress turf disease problems and build soil structure. This is also a good time to aerate, unless dandelions are blooming in your lawn.
Annual weeds are germinating now. It is a good time to treat them with vinegar sprays. White and cider vinegar can be used on tender succulent annuals; but newly sprouting perennial weeds, such as quackgrass and knapweed are not affected by these low acetic acid concentrations of vinegar. Tillage can also be used to kill newly germinating annual weeds. Till on a warm, dry day so weeds dry out and die.
It’s time to test garden soil and decide what soil amendments are needed. Apply amendments 2-3 weeks before you plan to plant. You can start seeding cool season vegetables now such as potatoes, onions, lettuce, peas, ect. It’s too early to put out warm season transplants, such as tomatoes.
If you’ve not done so already, prune June bearing raspberries ASAP. Last year’s fruiting canes will not be leafing out. Prune these canes as close to ground level as possible.
Our second annual Phlox Fest is this Saturday, April 25, from 10 am - 2 pm.
FOOD Trucks
GARDENS IN THE MISSOULA AREA – WILL BE HERE!
NATIVE PLANT VENDORS!
TABLING by the Department of Ecology & Extension, and partner organizations!
If you haven't visited the gardens yet, we are located directly behind the G.W. Marks Exploration Center, 1075 South Avenue West.
We look forward to seeing you there!
