KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Springtime is here! But in Kansas City, especially in April, weather can be unpredictable.
Last year in April, there were three snowfalls in KC.
Michael Turner, who's been gardening for more than 30 years, said while this month can be unpredictable, he's ready to get out and start planting.
"It's hard to not want to get out there, you know? Especially with this winter since it's been such a snowy, cold kinda winter, you just keep saying to yourself, 'I just got to get outside,' and it's kinda like a bug that gets into you," Turner said. "We had that early May snow a couple years ago that just caught everybody off guard. I mean it's crazy to have that kind of stuff because all those little tinder plants are just barely out of the ground."
Tim Selarno, with Soil Service Garden Center, said their plants are doing much better this year than last.
"Plants are doing fine," Selarno said. "We did have a lot of moisture over the winter so that's going to help as far as this year versus last year. Last year, it was bone dry throughout the winter, so we saw a lot of things, like liriope, which is a typically very hardy plant in this area, just completely wiped out. But we're not dealing with that this year so we should see a lot of the plants come back and get a better start in the spring."
Selarno said right now is almost the perfect time for gardeners to jump right into planting.
"Pansies are great right now, they're very resilient," Selarno said. "Typically about mid-April is when we get past the threat of that last freeze and so then we can really start gearing up and getting ready."
In the meantime, Selarno suggests now is the time to get garden beds ready and laying down any mulch or soil.
"If you need to add nutrients, use a soil conditioner, make sure you're stocked up on root simulator," he said.
If you're working in pots, keep an eye on the weather.
"If we do have that threat of a freeze, bring the plants in and just bring them back out the following day," Selarno said. "Anytime that we're doing any transplants from container to container, we're going to be damaging some of that root tissue and we want to get that root simulator in with the soil so it can be absorbed by the plant and it can regrow that tissue."
Weeds also pop up during this time of year. Selarno stated if you're unsure of what it is, bring it into the Soil Service Garden Center and they can identify it and help with the problem.
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