Landscape Maintenance for Spring

What is your spring landscape maintenance plan? We all want to get our landscape gardens off on the right roots so we can enjoy a healthy, thriving and vibrant landscape through the spring, summer and fall. Spring landscape maintenance plans start with general plant and bed maintenance, followed by shrub pruning, perennial cutbacks, fertilizing, mulching and edging beds. Garden Design Inc. offers full service Spring Landscape Maintenance and ongoing landscape services for Allentown, Emmaus and the entire Lehigh Valley Landscape companies.

March – April  Landscape Maintenance

Overview:  Plants begin to break dormancy. Work done now sets tone for remainder of season. Good Garden Hygiene will reduce needs for excessive pesticide and herbicide throughout the season

General Plant Maintenance:

• Cut back and cleanup dead and decayed perennial growth from prior season
• Prune any dead branching from woody shrubs and small trees
• Weed removal – winter weeds bittercrest, chickweed dandelion etc.
• Check for Scale and treat with Horticultural Oil
• Divide Perennials – where appropriate to fill in and encourage healthier growth.

Infrastructure Maintenance:

• Exposed lighting wire or irrigation tubing – dig and bury
• Check lighting systems, replace bulbs as needed, adjust timer as needed
• Check downspouts and drains for clogs or other issues
• Inspect hardscapes for heaving – repair lifting or shifting paving
• Inspect general garden drainage and resolve any washout problems

Perennials:

• Mow Liriope, Epimedium and other appropriate cutback groundcovers
• Hand groom Fern, Hellebore, Bergenia, Geranium (semi-evergreen perennials)
• Uncover plant crowns and ‘press down’ from winter heave
• Cutback and Divide Grasses

Flowering Shrubs:

• Rejuvenate Pruning – on heavy bloomers – Roses, Spirea, Hydrangea, Weigela
• Selective Pruning – to Form/Shape larger woody flowering shrubs i.e. Viburnum
• Reduction Pruning – Reduce 1/3 old wood past seasons i.e. Red Twig Dogwood

Evergreen Shrubs:

• Rejuvenate Pruning – form oriented shrubs i.e. boxwood and ilex
• Selective Pruning – Remove dead and damaged wood
• Disease & Pest – Inspect and treat Scale and psyllid (boxwood)

Trees:

• Selective Pruning – Remove dead/diseased wood and prune minor to good form
• Remove reversions, scions and root sucker growth

Fertilizing:

• Perennials – Fertilize around the crown, not on it
• Shrubs – fertilize 3-5” around the drip line, not inside or beyond
• Trees – Fertilize 6-12” around the drip line. Deep plug fertilize every 48”

Mulch:

• Cut bed edges – Check work order for specification Hand Edge vs. Machine
• Note prior over mulching and remove/spread out before new mulch
• Install mulch between plants – do not ever dump onto a plant!
• Move mulch around plants, never closer than 1” to crown or trunk
• Never bury crown, trunk or branching in mulch
• Never over mulch around any plant (2” Maximum)