April is the time to plant tomatoes, citrus and summer flowers
The Monthly Gardener by Robert Smaus
It's finally warm enough for those April gardening opportunities, including planting tomatoes in most parts of the Southland, or petunias, or citrus and other warmth-loving plants. Putting them in now gives the plants time to become established before the heat of summer arrives. Be sure to set aside time to smell the roses and other flowers -- at home and at botanic gardens -- because everything's in bloom.
Rose renewal
The April bloom on roses is spectacular -- usually the best of the year -- and roses will keep blooming every six weeks or so if the spent flowers are promptly cut off and the plants fed. Make the cuts right above an outward-facing leaf, far enough down on the stem to ensure strong new sprouts. Don't just cut off the flower. Make the cut just above what's called a "five-part leaf" -- a leaf divided into five leaflets. Use a rose fertilizer and lightly cultivate it into the soil.
Watch for the tiny holes in leaves caused by sawfly larva (rose "slugs") and control organically with horticultural oil sprays.
Citrus season
Every Southern Californian should have a lemon tree, and at least one orange tree. Lemons are a cook's best friend and some citrus fruit can hold on a tree for what seems like months. Valencia oranges, for example, are the champion hangers-on, becoming sweeter and sweeter the longer they're allowed to ripen on the tree (at least up to a point, when they begin to dry out).
Plant any citrus a little high -- about an inch of the root ball should remain above ground -- and be sure to use extra soil to mound up a watering basin around the plant. Trees will need to be irrigated frequently for the first year, and lightly fertilized twice a month, because that's what they received at the growers. Later, they will need surprisingly little water and little or no fertilizing if the fallen leaves are left on the ground
Tomato time
It's warm enough in most areas to plant the so-called main crop tomatoes -- all the heirlooms, 'Big Boys' and beefsteaks. Close to the beach, May is a better month, unless you plant a variety that can take cooler weather such as 'Early Girl' or 'Stupice,' a Czech heirloom. When choosing any variety, look for the letters VFN, which indicate verticillium and fusarium wilt and nematode resistance, if you've had problems in the past.
