Gardening Season to Begin
Doing these tasks sooner rather than later will give your garden a head start on the season Winter is winding down and you can't wait to get outside. But before you get caught up in buying new plants and moving things around, take some time to do some springtime tasks that will get your garden off to a quick, healthy, and productive start. Some gardening tasks must be done early or become difficult or impossible to do later. Here are the jobs you'll regret not doing sooner.
1. Plan your fall bulb order
Late summer is not the time to plan what bulbs you want to add to your garden when the bulb catalogs arrive; Just when your bulbs are blooming. In the spring, you can see what bulbs you already have and what gaps you need to fill between your perennials. Pull out your lists from last fall and start walking around your garden with your notes in front of you. Of course, the selection on this fall table won't be the same, but if you've already decided on the colors and numbers you want, it's easier to make substitutions.
2. Separate tender perennials
If you wait too long to divide tender perennials, the stems and leaves of plants like sedums, ferns, and even large hostas can be easily damaged and broken by a shovel. Divide these plants as they begin to emerge in the spring to minimize damage. Dividing now gives the division time to recover and grow new roots before hot summer temperatures set in.
3. Tiered Shrubs
Layering is one of the easiest ways to create your favorite shrubs. It's as simple as this:
(A) Fixing a low branch to the ground,
(B) Covering the pinned area with soil, and
(C) It waits for it to take root and grow new stems.
Doing this early gives your new bush time to develop healthy roots before it is separated from the mother bush. Also, if you do this just as the shrub is leafing out, you can clearly see the stems of the shrub to determine good layers.
4. Plan for the inevitable deer attack
When fighting deer, defense is more important than offense. Prepare your repellents and start using perennials as they emerge. Protect plants especially vulnerable to deer with wire cages. If you use motion repellents, such as motion-sensor sprinklers, set them up early in an effort to change deer habits before your yard becomes their favorite buffet.
5. Cut ornamental grasses
Ornamental grasses are invaluable for winter interest, their buff-colored plumes swaying in the winter breeze and providing texture and color when nothing else can. But don't leave those knives too long. If you wait too late to cut your grass to make way for new spring growth, you run the risk of cutting new growth hidden among the old, resulting in bald blades sticking out of sight until the clump has had a chance to recover. To avoid this, mow your lawn in late winter, before any noticeable signs of spring.
6. Direct sowing seeds
Some vegetables such as nasturtium (Trobiolum majus cvs), breadseed poppy (Papavar somniferum cvs), sunflower (Helianthus annuus cvs), love-in-a-mist (in-a-mist) and many annuals grow best when sown directly into the ground in spring. Nigella damascena and cvs.), and morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor cvs.). Once your last frost date has passed, sow these annuals where you like them; This gives them a head start before nearby plants shade them out or begin to eagerly compete for water and nutrients. Starting annuals early means they can be used very nicely to disguise the fading foliage of flowering bulbs in spring.
7. Start summer bulbs
Summer blooming bulbs should be started early to reach their maximum potential later in the year. Start tender bulbs and tubers such as dahlia (Dahlia spp. and cvs., zones 9–11), caladium (Caladium bicolor cvs., zones 10–11), and elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta* cvs., zones 8–11). , indoors in pots on a heating mat in late winter; Plant hardy bulbs and tubers such as Oriental and Asiatic lilies (Lilium spp. and cvs., zones 3-8), gladiolus (Gladiolus spp. and cvs., zones 8-10), canna (Canna spp. and cvs., zones 8-11 ), and calla lilies (Sandetecia spp. and cvs., zones 8-11), directly in the garden after the soil warms to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Waiting until after the spring planting rush means fewer choices in stores and less time for these plants to warm up, resulting in late or stunted leaves and flowers.
8. Deal with invasive plants
In the excitement of spring, it's easy to forget to start pulling weeds; After all, planting is more fun than weeding. But if you don't get started early, the weeds will flower before you know it, then set seed and create a new generation of weeds. Don't let your weed take so much you can't keep up. Pulling weeds when they are small is easier on you and the surrounding plants.
9. Fall-flowering perennials
A nursery yard in the spring is an intoxicating place. After a dreary winter, the sight of those blooming perennials can send you into a buying frenzy. But stop for a moment and think about your garden in the fall. Is it barren of flowers? You can visit other gardens and see their Japanese anemones (Anemone × hybrida cvs., zones 4–8), goldenrods (Solitago spp. and cvs., zones 5–9), sneezeweed (Helenium spp. and cvs., zones 3–8), and asters (Symphyotrichum spp. and cvs., zones 4-8)? These plants don't bloom in the spring in the nursery, so they often go unnoticed until it's too late to add them or find them at a garden center. Look for fall-blooming perennials and add them to your cart. By September week, you'll be glad you did.
10. Mulch your beds
Have you ever spent a few hours mulching around perennials that already have a foot or two of spring growth? It takes at least twice as long and a lot of time on your hands and knees, moving the leaves aside. If you start mulching early, you can carefully aim your shovels between localized clumps of growing plants, fine-tuning as you go, or cover perennials with perennial nursery pots and mulch in a broad sweep. That means you'll want to wait until the soil warms up a bit so your plants' roots can get a jump start.
What else not to do are frost-tender annual plants
Don't be tempted by those unscrupulous housing centers filled with apartments of impatient people in early March. You should never plant tender annuals before your last frost date. If you're keen for early color, stick to ice cubes, which can handle a bit of frosting.
Prune spring-blooming shrubs
One of the first tasks gardeners tackle in the spring is pruning. It's great to get out there and start designing and organizing, but it's easy to get carried away. Be aware of which shrubs in your garden flower on the previous year's growth, such as lilac (Syringa vulgaris cvs., USDA Hardiness Zones 4–8), mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius and cvs., Zones 4–9) and forsythia (Forsythia). spp. and cvs., zones 3–9). Wait to prune these shrubs until they bloom; Otherwise, you will miss the flowering season.
0 Comments