April Landscape Maintenance
With winter still trying to hang on, you should be finishing up your dormant pruning of shrubs and trees. Be sure to remove as many dead branches as possible. Dead material can harbor insects and disease. Remove last years flowers from tree Hydrangeas. Shrub roses can be trimmed at this time. Over the winter, most varieties of shrub roses will experience some winter die back. Just how much they die back depends on several factors, such as the severity of the winter cold, the amount of snow cover, and the variety of rose itself. Not all varieties of shrub roses offer the same degree of hardiness. All branches should be cut back to green wood and rounded to a nice shape. If they are planted in-groups always trim the smallest one first. Then trim the rest to the same size for the start of the growing season.
It is time to remove any winter protection put on plants. Tree wrap should be removed as well as any protection provided for temperamental shrubs. Perennial beds can be cleaned up after the frozen ground is completely thawed. Remove last year’s growth left for winter interest, and deeply spade or till soil between plants. Compost and peat can be added at this time, as well as slow release fertilizer if desired. This is a good time to divide and replant overgrown perennials. Hostas can be divided as soon as their pointy shoots appear.
Fertilize spring bulbs at the first sign of foliage appearing. Feed trees and shrubs with a granular fertilizer 10-10-10-or 10-20-10, sprinkled around their base. Acid loving plants such as Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Hydrangeas, and most evergreens would benefit from the addition of some cotton seed meal or other acidic fertilizer. Fresh mulch and a pre-emergent such as Preen can be applied to wood mulched beds.
Stay off wet and frozen lawns. As they dry out and green up you can rake up and begin mowing. Set mower blade low to 1 ½ inch to remove old grass and encourage root development. Shame on you if you didn’t aerate your lawn in the fall, but it can be done at this time while the soil is moist. Fertilizer should be applied after the lawn is up and growing. Fertilizer applied too early will begin to leech away before the grass can benefit. Thin areas can be over-seeded and the sprinkler system can be activated.
You can add some early season color to your gardens and pots by planting frost resistant Pansies and Johnny-Jump-Ups. Stay away from tender annuals until the threat of frost is gone. New trees and shrubs can be planted when the ground has thawed enough to dig a hole.
If pests were a problem last year you need to develop a plan of attack to hit them at the appropriate time this year. Spray fruit trees, Hawthorns and Crabs with dormant spray. Talk to your local garden center for appropriate products and timing. When using fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides ALWAYS read and follow the instructions. More is not always better.
Water features should be emptied and cleaned at this time. The pump can be reinstalled and the pond or fountain refilled and started for another season of soul soothing sound and motion.
Things done at this time of year set the stage for a whole season of enjoyment. Tended gardens provide beauty for the eyes and compliments from visitors. If you do the little things that your plants like they will respond. Enjoy the nice spring weather to come and protect your investment by spending a few hours in your beautiful yard tending to the garden. As always feel free to contact me with any individual questions or concerns.
Jeff Hauer, Landscape Designer and Owner