It's spring! Now is the time to ready your garden landscape for the months to come. Here are some great tips on how to get your garden ready for spring.
- Prepare beds for summer annuals, perennials and vegetable gardens.
- Monitor new growth on plants to check for early insect activity.
- Fertilize perennial beds
- Divide perennials like hostas, iris, and daylilies if they are overcrowded.
- Transplant shallow-rooted shrubs if they need to be relocated.
- Scalp warm-season turf
- Aerate warm-season turf after 80% green-up
- Sharpen all mower blades and pruning tools
- Examine warm-season turf for thin areas and top dress with sand and soil mixture
- Prune flowering shrubs after they bloom
- Make sure irrigation systems are pressurized and functional
- Fertilize shrubs and trees with a granular slow-release fertilizer
- Deep root fertilize trees that are unhealthy
- Deep root or drench boxwoods
- Apply pre-emergent to turf and beds to help prevent summer weeds
- Hand pull any unwanted tree seedlings from beds and groundcovers
- Prune new growth of English ivy from trees and shrubs
- Make sure you can identify poison ivy
- Set a goal to do more hand pulling of weeds rather than spraying
- Try an organic program this year on your turf or plants
- Limit use of insecticides and choose safer remedies
