April in High Desert GardensPt III

April is the time to plant some bare-root perennials, shade trees, and divide some perennials.

High desert gardening (USDA cold hardiness zones 6 and below, above 5,000 feet) poses some problems. But resourceful gardeners have found ways to circumvent some of the most difficult.

Trees to Plant Now

April is a good month to plant shade trees like Norway maple, green ash, crabapple, honey locust and several other desert-adapted (or desert-native) shade trees.

Bare-root plants

These plants come with their roots packed in some moistened material. Make sure you keep this material moist (not wet) until you’re ready to plant. When you do plant, remember to spread the roots out like a swirling skirt, and leave about one inch of the growth bud above the soil.

Divide summer and fall-blooming perennials now

The old rule of thumb is to divide spring-blooming perennials in the fall, and summer- and fall-blooming varieties in the early spring. Here’s a tip: plant the divisions in the late afternoon or early evening. The cool nights will help the new divisions adapt more quickly.

Put out tender bulbs, corms or rhizomes of summer and fall-blooming plants now. Since high desert climates generally supports the blooming of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths left in the ground, you shouldn’t have to worry about them, except for watering them and giving them some fertilizer. However, dahlias, gladiolas, some lilies and cannas are highly susceptible to cold and do not survive high desert winters for the most part. Put these out now.