General Spring Clean-up
Spring is here early and many of us are busy in the yard. This spring is looking like it is going to be an early one but we must exercise caution when we are going to plant realizing that our last killing frost for annuals like geraniums, impatiens, marigold, etc. is 5 weeks away, May 15th.
Do you have your weed preventer applied to the flower beds and the mulch in place, where you are not going to be disturbing the soil again this spring? This is a good time to get this completed while it is still cool and too early to plant those plants that need the warmer weather. Before you get going to strenuously be sure to get into the yard work slowly. The exercise is good but if you have not been too active for the winter months, like many of us, start off slowly and don’t overdo it.
This is a great time to plant the cold tolerant plants like pansies, perennials, dianthus, snapdragons and the Cole crops in the garden plus all the seed grown veggies like carrots, radishes, lettuce, beets and more.
Pruning is another item that some of us need to do this spring and now is a good time to get this done. Evergreen shrubs like Taxus or Yews can be trimmed severely at this time of year. Euonymus and boxwood are some other evergreens that can be pruned ‘hard’ and will respond very well to this treatment. Be careful with severe pruning of junipers as some may not regrow very well but this is the best time of year to prune them. Early spring blooming shrubs like forsythia, bridal wreath (Spirea), Rose of Sharon (Althea) and mock orange should be pruned immediately after flowering or you will you will not have flowers until next year. Here is a website that may help you determine when to prune various flowering trees and shrubs- http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/ho-4.pdf Be sure that any pruning leaves cuts close to the main stem or trunk of the plant. We do not want to leave any “stubs” that may cause infection to enter the tree or shrub you are pruning. On smaller branches be sure to prune back to a bud.
Proper pruning techniques to maintain healthy plants.
Lawns
If you have some bare spots in your lawn and you plan to do some reseeding this should be done without delay. It is critical to have good seed contact with the soil. Just keep in mind that late summer/early fall is the best time to establish a lawn but some patching can be done in early spring if completed before the end of April. Weeds will take over the spring seeded areas if poor soil contact of the seed or if seeding is too late in the spring. The 2 most important fertilizer applications a year are March/April and then in the September/October period.
Enjoy the warmer weather and let’s get the yard in shape in the next week or so.
