Advice of the month April

the summer ends, days shorten and announce the dormancy of trees.

1. Fruit trees
   Prune apple trees, pear trees and other fruit trees with stone.
   
   
2. Bushes
   Prune shrubs deflowers and cut the faded flowers.
   Plant evergreens (Portuguese Cherry Laurel, common Mahonia, Cotoneaster).
   Take a cutting from camellias, from azaleas, as well as honeysuckle, spireas shrubbies in spring blossoming, Common Smoke Tree, speedwells, eleagnus, buddlejas, deutzias, barberry, seringa, hydrangeas, weigelas plants with grey foliage taken a cutting this month will support winter humidity better.
   Layers rhododendrons and other plants of peaty soil.
   Think of feeding rhododendrons and azaleas, with manure or fertilizer and peaty soil, and avoid watering them too much to encourage them to produce many buds for next year.
   Perform a last cleanness pruning on boxwoods and conifers, especially yew trees.
   
   
3. Trees
   Plant trees with persistent foliage while the soil is hot (Portuguese Cherry Laurel, bay).
   Watch the appearance of red spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) and Pine Processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) on conifers that will turn yellow and fall off the needles. Spray the foliage thoroughly with clean water in preventing or treating with an insecticide containing deltamethrin. Do not touch Pine Processionaries that create itching. The remedy of a grandfather which consists in burning them is extremely dangerous in a neighbourhood of conifers dried out.