April is the green-up of Michigan — the spring ephemerals carpet the hardwood floors, the woodland migrants arrive, and the gardens come alive in the south. Spring sweeps north up the state through the month, weeks ahead along the warm Lake Michigan shore and lagging in the still-thawing Upper Peninsula.
Week by week in April
April 2–8
- The first warblers trickle in — yellow-rumped, pine, and palm warblers lead the way, with kinglets and hermit thrushes alongside.
- The spring-ephemeral show opens on the hardwood floors — bloodroot, spring beauty, Dutchman's breeches, and trout lily race the closing canopy.
- Direct-sow peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and beets, plant potatoes, and set out hardened cole-crop transplants that shrug off light frost.
April 9–15
- Hawk and waterbird migration ramps up over Lake Superior at Whitefish Point, and the first common loons return to the northern lakes.
- Marsh marigold glows gold in wet woods and seeps, and wood anemone and large-flowered bellwort follow on the forest floor.
- Small spring azures and the first cabbage whites appear over woodland edges and gardens on warm, sunny afternoons.
April 16–22
- The first large-flowered trilliums begin opening in the southern hardwoods, the start of the state's signature spring display.
- The Lyrid meteor shower peaks around April 22, a modest display radiating from near brilliant Vega, best after midnight from a dark site.
- Serviceberry opens its delicate white flowers along woodland edges, and the southern woods haze with new green as maples and basswood leaf out.
April 23–29
- Marshes fill with returning soras, Virginia rails, and marsh wrens, and the first house wrens and gnatcatchers reach the south.
- Outdoor markets reopen with the first hoop-house greens, ramps, and — in a good year — the start of the celebrated morel season in southern woods.
- Migrant red admirals and painted ladies may arrive on south winds, sometimes in big numbers over fields and gardens.
Birds This Month
April migration builds fast. The first warblers trickle in — yellow-rumped, pine, and palm warblers lead the way — alongside ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets, hermit thrushes, brown thrashers, and the first chipping and field sparrows. Eastern phoebes return to nest under eaves and bridges, tree swallows and barn swallows reappear over the water, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers drum on the maples.
The marshes fill with returning soras, Virginia rails, and marsh wrens, and the great waterbird passage continues — at Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula, hawk and waterbird migration ramps up dramatically over Lake Superior. Loons return to the northern lakes, common loons reclaiming the territories they will nest on. By late April the trees fill with blue-gray gnatcatchers, house wrens, and the first rose-breasted grosbeaks and orioles in the south — a preview of May's flood. Put up nest boxes and clean feeders now.
What's Blooming
April is the great spring-ephemeral show on Michigan's hardwood forest floors, racing to bloom before the canopy closes. In the rich beech-maple woods of the south and west, bloodroot, spring beauty, hepatica, Dutchman's breeches, trout lily, cut-leaved toothwort, and wild ginger open in succession, with the first marsh marigold glowing gold in wet woods and seeps. Wood anemone and large-flowered bellwort follow, and the earliest trilliums begin opening late in the month in the south.
In gardens, daffodils, crocus, scilla, and the first tulips bloom, and flowering bulbs sweep north through the month. The ephemerals fade fast once the trees leaf out, so April's first warm weeks are the prime window to see them on the forest floor. Up north and in the U.P., the display lags — bloodroot and hepatica there may not open until very late April or May. Wet woodland trails in the south are the place to be.
Garden This Month
April is the big cool-season planting month across most of Michigan. As soil dries and warms enough to work, direct-sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, and chard, plant onion sets, potatoes, and bare-root asparagus, rhubarb, and strawberries, and set out hardened transplants of broccoli, cabbage, kale, and other cole crops, which shrug off light frost. Keep slow seedlings growing under lights and start the warm-season crops if you haven't.
In the ornamental garden, cut back any remaining dead growth, divide and move perennials as they emerge, top-dress beds with compost, and plant pansies and other cold-hardy annuals. Resist setting out tomatoes, peppers, and squash — the last frost is still weeks away even in the south (mid-to-late May), and much later north. Cover tender new growth when frost threatens. This is the month the Michigan garden truly comes back to life.
Zone 4b (interior north & eastern U.P.): the ground is finally thawing — once it dries, direct-sow peas, spinach, and radishes, but hold all warm-season crops; the last frost here is well into late May or even June.
Zone 5b (much of the lower peninsula): direct-sow peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and beets, plant onion sets and potatoes, and set out hardened cole-crop transplants; harden off tomatoes indoors for a late-May planting.
Zone 6a (southwest lakeshore & far south): the busiest planting month — keep sowing cool-season crops in succession, plant strawberries and asparagus crowns, and begin hardening off warm-season transplants for early-May setting-out.
What's at the Farmers Market
April markets are in transition — the maple season winds down and the first true spring harvest begins. Maple syrup from the just-finished run is fresh and abundant, and the storage crops make their last appearance: onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, and the final cold-stored apples. The exciting newcomers are the early spring greens from hoop houses and the first field crops: spinach, lettuce, arugula, radishes, green garlic, and green onions, with overwintered spinach especially sweet.
Late April brings the first foraged ramps (wild leeks) and, in a good year, the start of the morel season in the southern woods — a celebrated Michigan spring event. Many outdoor markets reopen for the season this month. It's also peak plant-sale and seedling time, with vegetable starts, herbs, and pansies filling the stalls. Choose the freshest, crispest greens and use them within a few days of buying.
Night Sky This Month
April nights are mild enough to enjoy, and the spring constellations take over the evening sky. Leo rides high in the south, his backward-question-mark Sickle prominent, and the Big Dipper stands overhead, its handle arcing down to brilliant orange Arcturus in Boötes rising in the east — 'follow the arc to Arcturus.' Behind it, blue-white Spica in Virgo climbs the eastern sky. The winter stars sink into the west after dusk.
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks around April 22, a modest but reliable display of perhaps 10–20 meteors an hour radiating from near brilliant Vega, best after midnight from a dark site. This is a fine month to scan the spring galaxies of Leo, Virgo, and Coma Berenices with a telescope. From the dark northern parks the aurora remains possible. The printable Michigan night-sky guide lists this year's exact Lyrid peak, planet positions, and aurora outlook for your area.
Butterflies & Pollinators
April butterfly activity grows steadily as the weather warms. The overwintered adults — mourning cloaks, eastern commas, and question marks — are now joined by the season's first newly emerged species. Small spring azures, pale blue, flutter low along woodland edges; the first cabbage whites appear over gardens and fields; and in the south, the early elfins and the spring form of the eastern tiger swallowtail begin to fly. Migrant red admirals and painted ladies may arrive on south winds, sometimes in numbers.
The spring ephemerals and the first dandelions give these butterflies their earliest nectar, and warm, sunny, windless afternoons are by far the best for finding them. Monarchs have not yet reached Michigan — the first generation is still working its way north and won't arrive until May. Watch sunny forest openings, woodland trails, and garden edges, and plant or sow native nectar plants now to feed the building season.
What to plant for them is in the Michigan native plants guide
Trees This Month
April is leaf-out across southern Michigan and the slow green-up of the north. The flowering trees lead: red maple and silver maple finish blooming and set their winged samaras, serviceberry (Juneberry) opens its delicate white flowers along woodland edges, and wild plum and chokecherry follow. Aspens and cottonwoods dangle catkins and push their first leaves, and the willows green up first along the water.
By late April the southern woods are hazed with new green as sugar maple, basswood, black cherry, and elm leaf out, while the oaks, hickories, and black walnut hold back, the last to wake. Up north, leaf-out is just beginning and the U.P. forests are still largely bare. The conifers push fresh growth, and the tamaracks in the bogs send out their soft new needles. Oak and birch pollen begins to fill the air in the south.
The Michigan native plants guide covers what grows with them
Weather & Daylight
Across Michigan, a typical April day averages a high near 54°F and a low near 32°F, with about 3.1 inches of precipitation — statewide averages from the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals.
Genuinely mild afternoons in the mid-50s meet chilly nights near freezing, with frequent showers soaking the thawing ground.
| Average high | 54°F |
|---|---|
| Average low | 32°F |
| Precipitation | 3.1 in |
| Sunrise (mid-month) | 6:57 ET |
| Sunset (mid-month) | 20:21 ET |
Figures are statewide averages over the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals; local conditions vary with elevation and distance from the coast. Sunrise and sunset are computed for a midstate point on the 15th (ET).
Next month's version of this page, by email
One short note when Michigan's next month turns — what's arriving, blooming, and worth a night outside.
Go deeper with the Michigan guides
The complete Michigan birding, native-plant, and night-sky references — or the whole year, week by week, in one book.
Same month elsewhere: April in Minnesota · April in Mississippi · April in Missouri