Your Garden Spring Cleaning Checklist
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Time to read 2 min
After a long, cold winter it’s finally time to step back into the garden, but “Where to begin?” you might ask. Spring cleaning your garden is an important step for getting your plants off on the right foot. We’re going to go through some steps that should help get your growing year off right.
Clean Up
Once the threat of frost has passed, remove any winter protections you may have installed around shrubs and trees. Afterward, go around to your plants and gently remove the layer of leaves and general debris that has accumulated around the base throughout the previous year. This step allows your plants to have some breathing room and prevents pests and disease from taking hold in the new year.
Your next spring cleaning step for your garden is to go around to your trees and shrubs and remove any dead branches that fell victim to the winter. Much like the debris from below the plant, dead branches can easily become a den for pests and disease. If you’re unsure whether a branch is dead, try the scratch test (see picture below). Scratch an area of the suspect branch with your fingernail or a tool. If the scratch reveals green, the branch is alive. If the scratch is difficult to do, and reveals brown underneath, the branch is dead. Alternatively, you can try to bend back branches that are less than the size of a pencil. If it snaps, it’s dead. If it bends, it’s alive.
Now is also the time to remove any shrubs that died over the winter. If you’re interested in some further reading on this, Click here.
Clean Cut
Make sure to include trimming on your garden spring cleaning checklist. Use this time to prune back shrubs that bloom on new growth, such as buddleia or crape myrtles. Trim these shrubs down to the ground if you like, they’ll still bloom in spring.
Trim any leftover perennial foliage down to their crowns. Crowns are where the stems and leaves meet the plant’s roots, and they generally reside around an inch below the surface. This will allow for an optimal flush with the return of spring weather.
Trim roses back by 1/3 for more compact, densely foliated growth.
Don’t prune shrubs that bloom on old growth, such as summer-blooming hydrangeas. Pruning these in Spring will prevent them from blooming until next year.
Make your Bed
Now is a good time to turn the top layer of soil in your garden with a spade or a rake. Be gentle to avoid damaging your plants. Turning the soil allows for microorganisms to receive more oxygen, which makes for healthier plants. After this step, adding a layer of compost in your garden can also help to provide plant food for months to come and contribute to the richness of the soil.
Find out what soil pH your plants thrive in and then test the soil beneath them. If it needs to be more acidic, add some elemental sulfur. If it needs to be more alkaline, add some ground limestone. This will ensure your plants are ready to hit the ground running once spring is in full swing.
After Spring Cleaning Your Garden…
Now that your landscape is ready for the new season watch as your prep work pays off in spades. This is the perfect time to turn to more important things…namely, what you’re going to plant this year!
Thanks for reading. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. May your spring growing season be fruitful!
