A lot can happen over the winter season to your garden. If you live in an area that is prone to ice/snow, be sure to check your plants for damage. Clean up any dead branches damaged in the winter season. Trees and other perennials are the most at risk for this damage.
While you are inspecting your garden, be aware of any new animal homes from rodents and groundhogs. Address any of these pest problems before the spring thaw for the best results. For pest info, click here.
This is also a great time to focus on the hardscaping of your garden. What is hardscaping?
Hardscaping is stepping stones, fences, decks, sheds, trellises, etc. Replacing broken fences, fixing rock elements, and making sure your support devices are ready will ensure your garden is ready to grow as soon as the weather breaks.
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
–Hal Borland
Lastly, this is a perfect time to thoroughly clean your garden. Most professionals choose to do this before spring bulbs begin to grow. Remove any dead foliage, perennials from last year, and any leftover annual plant remains. These spaces make great homes for garden invaders, so it’s best to remove the risk early. If you have any large perennials this would be an ideal point to split them up and expand your garden.
Pruning
Many professional gardeners take this opportunity to prune some cultivars of trees and shrubs. Be sure NOT to prune early flowering shrubs ( azalea, forsythia, lilac, quince, ninebark, weiglea), as you will remove this year’s flower buds.
Once you have determined your pant won’t be harmed by pruning in the spring, it’s time to get to work.
Remove anything that has been damaged over the winter and any dead branches. Spring is the perfect time to give evergreens such as boxwood a ‘haircut”. It is a general rule that summer flowering shrubs can be pruned back in spring for optimal growth.
For a more comprehensive guide to pruning, check out https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/garden-maintenance/pruning-demystified.
Plan & Plant
Once the weather in your area warms up, it’s time to plan how your garden will look this year. Do you want to start your plants from seed? Check out our guide here.
Many gardeners use this time to plan out the general feeling of their garden. If you are a visual type person, we suggest using a garden planning tool such as Plan-A-Garden from Better Homes and Garden. This powerful 3D tool allows you to import many plants and garden items to create a visual representation of your idea.
Fertilize
Once you have all your garden plants sown where you want them, it is time to feed them. There are many types of fertilizer and applications. Check out our Fertilizer Guide .
The best multipurpose product would be Ferti-lome Tomato and Vegetable Food . Remember when using fertilizer, less is more. You can always add more product but it is challenging to remove excess. It’s best to try the product and 1/2 strength to see how your plants will react.
If you prefer an organic approach to fertilizer check out Plant Fertlixer . At Anderson’s Seed and Garden, we love using this in most of our projects. It aids in root growth and can boost flower and fruit production. It can be used in your garden soil or in containers !
This is also a time to add some mycorrhizae (beneficial bacteria) to your garden to give them a great head start. We recommend a product called Myke. There are two formulations, one for Vegetables and Herbs, and another for Trees and Shrubs.
To give your lawn a head start in spring, we recommend adding Natural Gaurd HuMate. This acts as a “multi-vitamin” for grass, a growth stimulant by increasing the grass’s nutrients uptake and metabolism.
To ensure you have a great lawn check out our guide on lawn fertilizing.
Sources:
https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/early-spring/10-essential-spring-gardening-tasks
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