April in your garden
by greenfingers
Tips for April in your garden
Plant up hanging baskets now or if you don’t have the facilities to do 
that, the garden centres have a wonderful choice. Remember that a hanging basket doubles it weight when it is watered, so ensure that the hook or rail it is hanging from is secure and not likely to bring the support down.
One of the best hanging baskets I had last year was filled with scaevola, whose flowers appear in a fan shape. They can also be used in the garden, but their sprawling habit is best shown off hanging from on high!
Don’t sow any more seeds or take cuttings from now on until the autumn. The resulting 
plantlets will struggle to cope with the increasing heat, as annual plants show off their best in the spring and fade and die as soon as the temperatures soar.
If your sweet peas are just coming into growth and have three sets of leaves then pinch out the growth point, which will make the plants send out new shoots from the base area. It will slow the plant down somewhat but you will get many more blooms later.
Cercis trees are bursting into bloom 
now that the weather is warmer and they will be followed by bauhinias. Warmer weather brings out the bugs so watch out for green fly and black fly on your plants.
If you grow the silver leaved artemisia you may find swarms of black fly have landed on the stems already, which may transfer to your broad beans.
Early roses may well be affected by greenfly as well. If you are not squeamish then you can take them off with a rubber-gloved hand or use a soapy water spray.
Source: North Cyprus Forum
