Hill City Master
Gardeners
Association
Gardening Tips for April
Perennials/Annuals – Begin planting your gardens, but remember that the last average frost date in Lynchburg (zone 7A) is between April 15 – 25 (VCE Publications 426-331: Virginia’s Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant). Pansies and Geraniums may be planted early in the season, but hold off planting heat lovers such as impatiens, petunias and coleus until mid May. When planting your annual flowers, they require rotating just like vegetables. New bedding plants will get established faster if you pinch off their flowers at planting time.
Insect Patrol – Mild winters are favorable for ticks. Keep your lawn areas mowed and stay out of weedy areas. You may protect yourself by putting your pant legs inside your socks. Read the label before using any type of pesticide. . . . more
Focus on Natives
With Punxatawny Phil predicting six more weeks of winter, you might be wondering what gardening tasks you can accomplish now. If you’ve decided you’d like to incorporate more native plants in your garden, there’s still time to start some from seed.
Many natives require a period of cold stratification, just as they would if they’d dropped their seeds in the wild at the end of summer. In their natural habitat, the seeds would sit there in the soil– some to be eaten by birds and other animals, some washed away in the rain — until warmer temperatures and longer days signal a favorable time for germination. A period of dormancy ensures that the seed won’t germinate too early — say in a warm spell — only to be killed when winter temperatures resume. Compounds in the seed that inhibit germination are broken down by enzymes that are activated as temperatures drop. In addition, hormonal changes increase the activity of enzymes that begin to metabolize the stored starches in the seed to provide it with energy. Moisture is needed for these processes and the seed coat softens to allow in more moisture and oxygen. Once environmental conditions are favorable, the seed can germinate.
Welcome to our Newest Master Gardeners.
New Master Gardeners from the Class of 2023
Applications for the 2025 Class
are now closed. If you have questions about future training classes, please contact us here.
Important dates:
January 17 (5 pm) –Application Due
January 31 — Payment Due
February 6 — Class Orientation
February 10 — First day of classes
It’s possible to replicate this process by keeping seeds in moist peat moss, vermiculite, or similar material in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. Using a moist medium ensures the seeds won’t dry out. Seeds can be stored this way for 10 to 12 weeks, and then planted in the spring. They may even start to germinate so they need to be handled carefully.
An even easier method of starting seeds that require cold stratification is winter sowing. With this method, seeds can be planted in a container, placed outdoors where they are exposed to the cold temperatures provided by nature, and allowed to germinate naturally when the time is right. One method often used is the “milk jug method.” Plastic milk containers are cut part way through the middle, leaving a small hinge attachment. Drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage. The containers are filled with a few inches of sterile, moistened potting medium and the seeds are sown on the surface. Make sure the surface is moist, and then seal up the containers with duct tape. The milk jug acts like a min-greenhouse to retain moisture. Place the containers outside and check on them periodically to make sure they are still moist. Once the seeds germinate, allow the plants to grow until they fill the space in the jug and then remove the top. If a really warm spell happens during the winter, open the top so it doesn’t get too hot inside.
The photos here demonstrate the winter sowing method. Photos courtesy of Master Gardener Sheri Hollingsworth.
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Ready to get a head start on your garden? The Hill City Master Gardeners are here with step-by-step instructions to make winter sowing easy, so you can plant an
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FESTIVAL OF GARDENING
The 2025 Festival of Gardening, our annual plant sale and celebration of all things gardening, will be here before we know it. We’ll be setting up again on the lawn of E.C. Glass High School with thousands of plants for sale, from heirloom tomato varieties to sought-after perennials to fragrant herbs. There will also be vegetables, annuals, native plants, trees and shrubs, vines and groundcovers as well as container gardens and garden décor items. All plants are grown from seed, divisions, or cuttings by our Master Gardeners. This sale is our annual fund-raising event that supports our training programs, and various community projects. Keep watching this site for a map of the sale layout so you can plan your plant-shopping adventure!
SAVE THE DATE!
FOG 2025
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Virginia Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who work within their communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management education and training. As an educational program of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Master Gardeners bring the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. All information we disseminate must be research-based by VT/VSU.
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Look for our latest HCMGA postcards.
Available at HCMGA events and project sites, and at the Community Market Information Booth.
Spring is blooming and there is always something new to see in the garden. Whether you are cultivating a hybrid, nurturing an heirloom, or propagating to support your local pollinators, there’s lots to learn and lots to do. A garden gives back everything that you put into it. Do you know what’s next? Monthly Gardening Tips below.
Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as looking across at the garden at the end of a day.
In the Garden This Month
APRIL
Gardening Tips for April
Perennials/Annuals - Begin planting your gardens, but remember that the last average frost date in Lynchburg (zone 7A) is between April 15 - 25 (VCE Publications 426-331: Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant). Pansies and Geraniums may be planted early in the season, but hold off planting heat lovers such as impatiens, petunias and coleus until mid May. When planting your annual flowers, they require rotating just like vegetables. New bedding plants will get established faster if you pinch off their flowers at planting time.
Insect Patrol - Mild winters are favorable for ticks. Keep your lawn areas mowed and stay out of weedy areas. You may protect yourself by putting your pant legs inside your socks. Read the label before using any type of pesticide.
Mow - Prepare for mowing season by removing tree branches, twigs and other debris from your lawn. Wait to mow until the grass has grown at least two inches. The roots are being renewed in the spring and grass needs vigorous top growth initially.
Moss - May be a problem. Moss grows well in most any soil whether acidic or alkaline, wet or dry, sun or shade. Removal or treatment without changing soil conditions is not long lasting. http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-536/430-536.html.
Cleanup - Don't be over anxious about pulling up what appear to be dead plants. Many perennials are killed to the ground, but the roots are still alive and will support new growth. Butterfly Weed is a late arriving perennial - mark where you planted it so you don't dig in the area.
A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. – Doug Larson.
