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Landscape Maintenance

Spring Landscaping Dos and Don’ts

By December 21, 2021January 27th, 2022No Comments

While spring may seem far off, it’s a good idea to start planning early so when the sunshine and warmth finally arrive, your plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs will benefit from your forethought.  We’ve compiled a handy list to help get you started in the right direction and avoid some common mistakes along the way.

DO start weeding! Those pesky weeds will be one of the first things to emerge after winter, so getting a jump start on them will help you maintain control throughout the rest of the year.  Of course, bees love dandelions, so leaving them alone and focusing more on noxious, invasive weeds in our region like burdock or blueweed is a good idea.

DO stay local! Using local plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees in your landscaping not only benefits the insects and other animals in our region, but also will save you work down the road.  Tending to local plants, which already grow well in our climate, will be far less work than trying to maintain expensive exotics from other areas.

DON’T work in soil that is still partially frozen or too wet.  This can cause compaction, which will inhibit aeration and prevent nutrients from reaching your plants, in addition to restricting the growth of the plants themselves.

DON’T cut your lawn too short! It can be very enticing to pull out the mower and get your grass looking tip-top right away, but your lawn needs some time to grow first.  You should wait until it’s about 3 inches long before the first cut of the year.

Of course, there are many other things you can do to prepare for spring, like getting fertilizer and mulch going, removing any standing water, and pruning later-blooming plants. Getting a head start on your spring landscaping tasks will ensure you’re able to reap the benefits all year long!