The winter season has been miserably cold with temperatures reaching record lows. Most of us have been held up in our homes trying to make the most of these bitter cold days. We venture outside long enough to take the trash out and run back inside to try to warm up from the excursion. The minute the birds start to chirp here in the north you can bet that most of us will be taking advantage of the warmth by starting our spring landscape maintenance. Below you will find some information to get you ready for when the spring finally gets here.
One thing to remember no matter how warm it gets throughout March and April hold off on the urge to start your irrigation system and sprinklers. Wait until May, until the potential for frost is gone, to begin preparing your sprinkler system. Your lawn has plenty of moisture stored so the need for supplemental moisture really doesn’t come into play until the beginning or middle of May anyhow.
When the temperatures start to warm and the probability of a freeze is gone it is time to start preparing your trees for the warmth that is about to occur. Any tree that has been wrapped for the winter should be unwrapped and the burlap should be removed from the bushes. Now is not the time to prune your trees and bushes. Spring is when they are budding and most susceptible to stress. It is best to wait until after the trees and bushes have begun to blossom until you trim are able to tell what is living.
Your perennials and ornamental grass is a different story. You should take time at the start of spring to trim them down. This will allow them to regenerate bigger and better than they were the previous year. Be careful with certain perennials and grasses as they may not need to be trimmed down as far down as others. If you are unsure it is best to talk with or hire a landscaper to come in and assist you with spring clean up.
Springtime is also the time of year where you split fall blooming perennials and grasses and transplant them throughout the landscaping. This will give the plants plenty of time to grow throughout the season so that when they bloom in late summer there will be more of them for you to enjoy.
Mulch is another spring time maintenance task. Remove any extra mulch that was put in place to protect the trees from the harsh winter. Less mulch surrounding the plants and trees will allow the extra moisture to soak into the plants roots. With too much mulch in place or extra leaf debris there is a chance for root rot, mold and insect damage.
All this talk about spring landscape maintenance makes it a bit more difficult to face the facts that we have a little ways to go until it gets here. Head to the home improvement store to get a head start on buying new spring maintenance tools, fertilizer and debris bags that may help tide you over until spring comes back to us cold folk in the north.
CBA Outdoor Services is a local landscape design firm offering services, including landscaping and landscape design, throughout Livingston and Wayne Counties. For more information on the services they offer to both commercial and residential clients look online at http://cbaoutdoors.com/.