Tips for Spring Landscape Cleanup
The weather is finally warming up and spring is officially in the air. Yards are starting to look green and flowering bulbs are popping up all over the city. Below are 5 great tips to spring cleaning your yard and freshening things up before summer.
- Cut back ornamental grasses and perennial flowers. To help these plants look their best, cut all the dead, crispy, brown growth as close ground level as possible. The brown stems above ground from last year’s growth will never green up again, so try to remove as much as possible to let the new growth take center stage.
- Prune shrubs. March is the perfect time of year to prune crowded, damaged, or less-than-ideal branches out of your bushes. Just be sure to use good pruning techniques and avoid shearing shrubs.
- Refresh your wood mulch areas. Once your landscape plants are cut back, it’s much easier to top off areas with shredded wood mulch, wood chips, or bark. Add enough new mulch so that the whole layer is 3-4 inches thick. This will keep the weeds down and preserve soil moisture throughout the growing season. Make sure the mulch is not covering cut back plants or is piled against their crowns.
- Apply weed preventer in gravel areas. If you have areas covered with rock or gravel and have had a weed problem in the past, consider putting down weed preventer. By stopping new weeds from germinating, this practice can save you a lot of time and effort later in the summer. Apply this only in areas you will not be seeding (like a vegetable garden or bare spots in your lawn) and water in to activate. Keep in mind it will only stop new weeds from germinating, not control existing weeds that regrow each spring from their roots.
- Water by hose, if needed. Your plants’ roots become active once the soil temperature rises over 40 degrees. This means your plants will typically start using soil moisture before you turn on your sprinkler system. If we have an extended dry period, water your lawn, flowers, and trees with a hose-end sprinkler periodically to ensure the soil is moist enough to support healthy growth. Be sure to disconnect the hose once you’re finished to avoid freeze damage.
via: Colorado Springs Utilities https://www.csu.org/Blog/archive/2019/03/20/five-tips-for-spring-landscape-cleanup.aspx
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