April in the Desert Garden

April is your last comfortable planting window before summer — get heat-lovers established now, dial in irrigation, and mulch to hold moisture ahead of the heat.

What To Do in April

Grass

• Bermuda should be fully active — mow regularly and resume a normal summer watering schedule.
• Fertilize the warm-season lawn as it greens up.
• Let the last of the ryegrass die out naturally.

Trees & Shrubs

• Last good month to plant before summer stress — get trees, shrubs, and cacti in early in April.
• Add a 2 to 3 inch layer of mulch around plants to hold moisture and keep roots cool.
• Watch for aphids and spider mites as it warms; blast them off with water or use insecticidal soap.

Flowers

• Plant heat-tolerant color: vinca, portulaca, celosia, gomphrena, and lantana.
• Keep feeding and deadheading roses before the heat slows them down.

Vegetables

• Get the last warm-season transplants in early — tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, and okra.
• Harvest cool-season crops before they bolt.
• Plant sweet potatoes and black-eyed peas, which love the coming heat.

Don’t Make These Garden Mistakes in April

1. Don’t plant frost-tender ornamentals late and expect them to establish before summer — early April is the cutoff.
2. Don’t let mulch pile against trunks and stems; keep it a few inches back to prevent rot.
3. Don’t underwater new plantings as temperatures climb into the 90s.
4. Don’t ignore early pest signs; populations explode fast in warm weather.
5. Don’t fertilize right before a heat spike — feed, then water deeply.