Average min. temp: 10F to 15F
Average last frost date: April 15
Average first frost date: Oct 27
This Grow Guide can tell you when to start seeds and when to move things out into the garden for your zone too! It's a handy dandy little tool along with this page on companion planting, a sure fire way to help you help your garden help itself!
Zone 8 Monthly Gardening "To Do" List
January
Order seeds
Sow seeds of warm-season annuals indoors
Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming annuals
Plant fruit trees
Apply dormant spray to fruit trees
Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
Move living Christmas trees outdoors
Plant or transplant frost-tolerant perennials
Plant bare-root roses
Apply dormant spray to bare-root roses
Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
Prune winter-blooming shrubs and vines just after bloom
Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines
Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
Sow seeds for cool-season vegetables
Protect tender plants from frost
February
Order seeds
Sow seeds of warm-season annuals indoors
Set out cool-season annuals
Plant fruit trees
Apply dormant spray to fruit trees
Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
Plant or repair warm-season lawns
Plant ornamental grasses
Plant or transplant frost-tolerant perennials
Sow seeds for tender perennials indoors
Plant bare-root roses
Apply dormant spray to roses
Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
Prune winter-blooming shrubs and vines just after bloom
Apply dormant spray to shrubs and vines
Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
Plant seedlings of cool-season vegetables
Sow seeds for cool- and warm-season vegetables
Protect tender plants from frost
March
Prune winter-flowering shrubs and vines after bloom
Plant summer- and fall-flowering bulbs
Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
Plant permanent ground covers
Plant or repair lawns
Plant ornamental grasses
Plant bare-root and container roses
Plant or transplant warm-season annuals
Plant fruit trees
Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
Plant heat-loving perennials
Plant ornamental and evergreen trees, shrubs, and vines
Prune spring-flowering or tender shrubs and vines during or just after bloom
Plant warm-seasoned vegetable seedlings
April
Set out annuals
Plant summer-flowering bulbs
Plant balled-and-burlapped and container fruit trees
Prune frost-sensitive fruit trees
Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
Plant or repair lawns
Plant ornamental grasses
Plant fall-blooming perennials
Prune tender deciduous shrubs and vines
Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines during or just after bloom
Prune flowering fruit trees during or just after bloom
Sow seeds for warm-season vegetables
Plant seedlings of warm-season vegetables
May
Plant summer-flowering bulbs
Plant balled-and-burlapped and container fruit trees
Prune frost-sensitive fruit trees
Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming
Plant or repair warm-season lawns Plant ornamental grasses
Plant fall-blooming perennials
Prune tender deciduous shrubs and vines
Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines during or just after bloom
Sow seeds for warm-season vegetables
Plant seedlings of warm-season vegetables
June
Pinch off flower buds to promote leafier basil plants
Fertilize vegetable plants as they begin to bloom
Lightly prune tips of blackberries and pinch flowers off young grapevines to form and train growth of new canes
Take cuttings from your favorite shrubs when the branch wood hardens slightly
Plant seedlings of heat-loving vegetables such as melons, peppers and pumpkins for fall harvests
Set out seedlings of late-summer flowering annuals
Add a layer of mulch (2-3 inches) around newly planted trees and shrubs
Cut back and thin out diseased or spindly branches of spring-flowering shrubs
Prune once-blooming roses after they've flowered this month
Fill flower garden gaps with larger sizes of summer-blooming annuals
Replace mulch and aerate soil in permanent potted gardens
Plant fall-blooming perennials now
July
Start basil seedlings for a fall herb garden
Mow warm-season grasses at a height of 2.5 to 3 inches; apply at least an inch of water a week
Prevent rose diseases with a fungicide spray program
For longest vase life, harvest cut flowers just as they begin to open and condition them in floral preservative
Fertilize container plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer solution for best bloom
Keep annuals in bloom by removing faded flowers
Bats help control mosquitoes; attract these friendly mammals with bat houses
Help trees survive the heat by mulching heavily over the root system--avoid mulch too close to the trunk
Water your garden more efficiently with drip irrigation or soaker hoses
Save space in the garden with trellises, fences, and stakes-harvest is easier too
August
Color up your bulb garden with fall bloomers (lycoris, fall crocus, colchicum)
Prepare rose beds for fall planting
Pick vegetables early in the day while they're crisp
Plant out vegetable seedlings and sow seed for fall harvests
Leach out alkaline buildup in the soil with deep waterings and applications of acid plant food
Dig gently to harvest potatoes, a few plants at a time
Sow seeds of cool-weather herbs (chives, parsley, garlic chives, cilantro and dill)
Enjoy fall fragrance by planting autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata), flowering tobacco and annual stock
Order and refrigerate bulbs that require a winter chill (tulips, crocus, hyacinths)
Keep cool during summer's dog days with a shade garden embroidered with hostas and hardy ferns
September
Plant bareroot trees and shrubs
Order sweet pea seedlings for fall planting
Set out second crop of tomato and pepper plants
Sow seeds of green beans, squash, pumpkins and cucumbers
Divide bearded iris and other overcrowded spring- and summer-blooming perennials
Prune cane fruits
Continue to harvest herbs and flowers for drying
Sow seeds of perennials and keep soil moist if rainfall is scarce
Start cool-weather vegetables from seed now or set out store-bought transplants later in the month
Plant winter pansies and fall annuals (calendula, dianthus, ornamental cabbage and kale
October
Plant for fall and winter color
Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs
Plant balled-and-burlapped and container fruit trees
Prune frost-sensitive fruit trees
Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
Plant or repair lawns
Plant ornamental grasses
Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials
Plant fall- and winter-blooming perennials
Prune fall-blooming shrubs and vines just after bloom
Plant seedlings of cool-season or winter vegetables
Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables
November
Lightly cover perennial, vegetable, bulb, and strawberry beds for winter
Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs
Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
Plant or repair lawns
Plant ornamental grasses
Plant winter-blooming perennials
Plant bare-root roses
Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
Prune fall- and winter-blooming shrubs and vines after bloom
Plant cool-season or winter vegetable seedlings
Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables
December
Order seeds
Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming plants
Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs
Plant fruit trees
Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
Water living Christmas trees
Plant bare-root roses
Prune hardy dormant deciduous trees, shrubs, and vine
Prune winter-blooming shrubs and vines after bloom
Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
Apply dormant spray to trees
Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables
Plant or transplant cool-season or winter vegetables
Protect tender plants from frost
Source for Monthly Calendar
