Wichita gardener’s almanac (April 4)

Tulip peak and spring color — The very warm weather midweek had tulips popping open like popcorn all over Botanica, meaning that peak bloom should happen around Easter Sunday this weekend, landscape supervisor Pat McKernan said. The cooler weather that has followed should hold the tulips until it warms up again. “We’ve got a lot of color in the garden,” McKernan said. There are also lots of hyacinths and late daffodils among the spring bloomers.

Thousands of tulips also are in bloom at Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine, along with daffodils, redbuds, crabapples, quince and hellebores.

Botanica will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine also will be open both days. See more details under “Garden events” below.

Plant — Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, potatoes, radishes, onions, peas, spinach, rhubarb, turnips, beets.

Early-bird tomatoes — Putting out your tomatoes early and hoping they do well may not be the best idea, Ward Upham of K-State writes in this week’s Horticulture 2015 newsletter. You can, however, take some actions to increase your chances of the tomatoes doing well if you plant them out two weeks earlier than normal, he says. First you’ll want the soil temperature to be high enough for root growth. It needs to be at least 55. Check the soil 2 1/2 inches deep at 11 a.m. Some people put down plastic mulch to warm up the soil; this can take several days. Plants also must be able to be protected from frost. Hot caps or water teepees can be placed around the plants to protect them on cold nights and hasten growth. Flowers will not set fruit at temperatures below 55 degrees, Upham says.

Derby garden plots available — The Oaklawn Community Garden in Derby has plots available for rent for the 2015 growing season. The plots are open to those 18 and older who live in the USD 260 boundaries. The garden is just east of the Oaklawn Activity Center at 4904 S. Clifton. Both communal and individual plots are available, and each is 4 by 6 feet. Produce from communal plots will go to the Community Food Pantry south of the garden. The cost is $20 per plot; scholarships are also available for plot rental depending on income. Contact Debbie Williams of the Derby Recreation Commission at derbyrec.com; debbie@derbyrec.com or 316-788-3781, ext. 109.

Garden events

Tulips, Fairies & Forts — Botanica is dressed up for spring with forts, fairy houses and lots of activities for children on Saturdays through April 18 as part of the Tulips, Fairies & Forts event. There are crafts, fairy dress-up and props, games, a scavenger hunt, fort-building, bubbles, fairy story time, and a bounce house. It’s included in admission. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Each Saturday also has its own features; on April 4 the Bug Lady and a face painter will be there from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Spring weekends at Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine — Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine will be open this weekend and next. This weekend gates will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and all day Sunday beginning with a sunrise Easter service at 7 a.m. Friends University’s SOULstice Jazz Combo will play at 4 p.m. Sunday. Picnics are welcome, and food will be for sale from Luciano’s starting at 3. Cost is $5 during the day, $10 for the concert.

Next weekend brings Art at the Arb. More than 100 visual and performing artists will have their works on display and music in the air. Food also will be for sale. Admission is $5. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. For more information about the arboretum: www.bartlettarboretum.com.

New plants and containers talk — Ron Marcum of Dutch’s Greenhouse will be at Botanica on Wednesday to show new annuals, perennials, gypsy and fairy gardens, herbs and vegetables as well as how to combine plants. His lunchtime lecture, at 12:15, is included in Botanica admission. Truffles will have lunch for sale from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for $8.

Tree Fest next weekend — The annual celebration of trees at the Extension Center will be on April 11. People can learn about which trees to plant and how to plant them and can buy trees at the event sponsored by the master gardeners. Seminars, demonstrations and tours will be offered. The farmers market will be going on in the parking lot of the center at 21st and Ridge Road, and there will be a bake sale as well as pancakes and sausage for sale. Tool sharpening for a small fee, youth activities, educational booths and local vendors will also be part of the event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free.

Here is the schedule of seminars:

8:10 a.m.: ICT Trees – Replanting Wichita, by master gardener master gardener Barney Barnhard

9 a.m.: Trees for Kansas, by Jason Griffin, director of the John C. Pair Horticultural Center

10 a.m.: Elms: No Longer a Four-Letter Word, by community forester Tim McDonnell

11 a.m.: Structure Pruning of Immature Trees, by Josh Murray of Ryan Lawn & Tree

Demonstrations: 9:15 a.m., composting; 10 a.m., rose pruning; 10:30 a.m., tree planting, mulching and watering.

Tours: 11:30 a.m., arboretum tour, by Cathy Brady of Brady Nursery; 12:15 p.m., Nature Trail tour.

Annie Calovich

This story was originally published April 2, 2015 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Wichita gardener’s almanac (April 4)."