As the days lengthen, and warmer weather teases us to get outdoors, it’s time to think about getting your property and outdoor living area ready for another great season of outdoor activities.
Landscaping maintenance is never a one-time occurrence. But it’s particularly necessary in the spring after a long, cold winter. The winter months take a toll on our trees, plants and lawn so we wanted to share some timely tips regarding your landscape maintenance.
Spring Landscaping Maintenance Tips
Clean Up. A general cleaning up is the first step of any spring landscaping maintenance project. This involves cleaning up the beds, garden and lawn. Any leaves, fallen branches and other debris should be removed from your yard. Quite often the wind blows all of your neighbor’s leaves onto your property, leaving them to settle around your shrubs or in some corner of your foundation beds. Also, if you didn’t cut back your perennials last fall, you’ll need to remove unsightly clutter left behind.
Prune Branches. Inspect your trees and shrubs that may have been damaged by ice or snow. Limbs that have jagged wounds are more susceptible to disease where clean cuts heal more quickly. It’s also a good time to prune off live branches to make the plants more aesthetically appealing. However, be careful not to prune any shrub that blooms in the spring or you’ll cut off all the buds yet to bloom. Remove any plants that haven’t survived and start thinking about their replacements. If you’re not sure if they are dead, cut into woody stems starting at the tip and work down toward the crown looking for stems with green wood inside. New growth should push out from the green woody stems.
Cut down ornamental grasses before new growth begins.
Cut Down Ornamental Grasses. Cut grasses back by late spring before new growth has time to start.
Evaluate Your Lawn. If you struggle with an unhealthy lawn, consider a balanced program of fertilization and weed control to give your lawn the best environment to flourish. Leave it up to the professionals to improve the overall health of your soil which in turn will help you grow a healthy lawn. Whitehouse Landscaping uses an organic- based six application program that is designed to give your turf the nutrients it needs to thrive throughout the growing season while improving the overall condition of your soil. We also offer additional turf rejuvenation services: soil tests, lime applications, core aeration and overseeding.
Prevent Crabgrass. Pre-emergent herbicides can be used to control crabgrass and spring is the ideal time for its use. When soil temperature gets to between 55 and 60 degrees, crabgrass seeds will germinate. Applying the herbicides in the spring prevents that from happening.
Prune Branches
Mulch. The ideal time to mulch is mid to late spring just before your perennials pop up. Calculate the amount of mulch you need. For every 32 square feet (about the size of 2 parking spaces), you’ll need one cubic yard of mulch for an inch of cover. Also, check online for handy calculators to help you estimate. Mulching protects the soil from erosion, helps retain moisture in the soil, prevents weeds from growing and provides a ‘finished’ look to your garden and landscape.
Remove weeds, debris and old growth before spreading mulch. You may need to remove old mulch because you don’t want to exceed a total thickness of 2 to 3 inches. Sprinkle a weed prevention product to minimize weed growth throughout the season.
Edge and clean out garden beds.
Edge Beds. Edge beds at least 4 inches deep. A sharp edge not only provides a manicured appearance, holds mulch in place and prevents the lawn from creeping into the beds, but it also looks more aesthetically pleasing.
Apply a Pre-emergent Weed Preventative. This, of course, is optional but it is successful in deterring weeds in your landscape beds. Use with caution, and not near ponds. Applications typically last about 3 months. Applications typically last about 3 months.
Patio Cleaning. We use the start-of-the-art Seal ‘n Lock System combining high quality, paver production products with a first-of-its-kind application process that restores the original beauty lost due to harsh weather in just 1 day.
Landscaping Maintenance Options – Let Us Do the Work!
These tips are for the do-it-yourselfers who love to fuss in their yard. But if you appreciate a beautiful landscape, but are time deprived to make it happen, Whitehouse Landscaping can take care of your landscape maintenance. We can tackle any task on your outdoor to-do list. Whether its pruning, edging, mulching or weed prevention, our experience can get your maintenance job done efficiently before your outdoor barbecues. Get in touch or call us at 484-300-4290. Take back your weekends this spring!