Yes! Spring is here! It’s time to start planning and shopping for those early spring beds.
Trees, shrubs and perennials may be planted as soon as they become available at local nurseries. Cool season annuals and veggies can also be planted at this time. But don’t jump too far ahead, our average date of a last frost is April 15th. And we stress average!
If you haven’t done so yet, pre-emergent herbicides should be put down in landscape beds and in lawn areas. A good rule of thumb is to apply them when the forsythia begins to bloom and soil temperatures are around 55 degrees.
Examine shrubs for winter injury. Prune all dead and weakened wood. Any bending from our last snow should have returned to normal by now. You may even notice some breakage.
To remove winter burn, and tidy up your ground cover beds, raise your mower blades to the highest setting and mow. Water and fertilize to encourage new growth.
Some shrubs and trees do better when planted or transplanted in the spring, rather than fall, include magnolia, butterfly bush, dogwood, red bud, rose of Sharon, tulip poplar, hawthorn, birch, ginkgo, and most oaks. Ginkgo…you say? Yes! Believe it or not, there are now fruitless varieties of Ginkgo. And what about that gorgeous fall color!
To help keep better track of precipitation, mount a rain gauge on a post near the garden to so you can tell when to water. Most gardens need about 1 inch of rain per week between April and September. Mounting a rain gauge is truly a great investment at about a $1.00 each.
