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Spring has Sprung Tips

Spring will be here before we know it and in some areas are starting to see the beginning of plants poking through the ground already!  In the metro area of Michigan, we’ve had an unusually mild winter and warmer temps for February, currently 52° as of this writing!  Here are some tips to follow to help your garden looks its best as we head into the Spring months!

Time for a spring inspection

On one of the first warm days of spring, put on your inspector’s hat and head out to the garden with a notepad. It’s time to see what happened in the garden while you were indoors all winter. Take note of any snow or ice damage on plants, beds that need to be cleaned out and repairs to hardscape elements such as fences, benches, sheds, and most importantly any evidence of new animal burrows from skunks, chipmunks, moles and groundhogs.

Address hardscaping issues first.

In early spring before the ground is ready to be worked, focus your energy on hardscaping. This is the time to repair damaged retaining walls, level out your stepping stones, clean out your gutters, and fix fences, benches, decks, sheds, trellises, window boxes and raised beds.  It’s also a good time in early spring is also a good time to plan for and build new raised gardens, widen existing ones, and tidy up your beds’ edging.

Do a thorough spring cleanup.

Ideally just before your spring bulbs start to pop up, clean the plant debris out of your garden beds. Any fallen branches, matted down leaves, last year’s perennial foliage, ornamental grasses and perennial hibiscus, and any annuals you didn’t remove last fall.  Now is also a good time to clean out debris from your pond or water feature.  If you have any bird baths scrub and sterilize them before setting them back out into the garden. Any easy solution is 1 part bleach/5 parts water solution should take care of any lingering diseases or insect eggs in your containers.    

Test your garden soil.

Experts recommend testing your garden soil every 3-5 years to see what nutrients or organic materials it needs and which it has too much of.

Feed your soil.

Once you know what your garden soil needs based on your test results, talk with someone at your local garden center about which specific products to use.  

Get out a sharp pair of pruners.

Spring is a good time to prune some kinds of woody shrubs and trees. Spring is also a good time to shear back evergreens like boxwood and arborvitae once their initial flush of new growth has finished emerging.  DO NOT prune early flowering shrubs and those that bloom on old wood (last year’s stems) like azalea, lilac, ninebark and weigela.

Divide perennials and transplant shrubs.

In early spring when they are just beginning to pop up, divide and transplant any perennials that have outgrown their space or grown large enough to split, if desired. In most cases, it’s best to divide and move perennials in the opposite season of when they bloom. That means moving summer and fall blooming perennials in spring, and spring blooming perennials in fall. This avoids disrupting their bloom cycle.

Put out any necessary supports like trellises and stakes.

If you’ve brought a trellis into the garage or shed for winter, early spring is a good time to bring it back out into the garden. Make sure it’s sturdy and apply a fresh coat of paint if needed before using it again

Plant your spring containers and borders.

Though most annual flowers need the soil to warm up a bit before planting, some cool weather loving plants like pansies, nemesia, and osteospermum daisies won’t mind if you plant them in the garden early. Fill your spring containers with sweet alyssum, lobelia and Supertunia petunias, too.

Be ready to take cover if freezing temperatures are in the forecast.

If you garden in an area where late spring frosts and freezes are a possibility, be prepared to cover up plants that have tender emerging buds or foliage if freezing temps are in the forecast. Old sheets and towels that have been relegated to the rag pile are a good option, and professional row cover is available for purchase, too. The effect of the plastic touching the newly emerging buds and foliage will magnify the cold’s effect, rather than mitigate it.