Late Winter and Early Spring Landscaping Tips

Although winter seems to linger long in the Midwest, spring often blossoms abruptly. Are you ready to perform your late winter and early spring landscaping chores? Getting your landscape ready for the growing season may involve a wide range of tasks from cleaning up debris to dividing perennials. To achieve a beautiful healthy landscape, keep the following garden prep work in mind.

Clean It Up

Winter weather typically leaves behind a mess of downed branches and twigs. In late February or early March, it’s a good time to assess your landscape, removing any debris you find. Clean out your containers and window boxes to ready them for the season ahead. If your perennials still contain stalks from the previous growing season, remove them to make way for new growth. This is also the time to remove any stray leaves and pinecones from your lawn and flower beds.

Prune Trees and Shrubs (Carefully)

Early spring is a good time to prune your fruit trees and berry shrubs. However, many tree experts recommend that landscapers avoid pruning their spring-flowering trees. On the other hand, if you note that these trees have winterkill on branches or dead wood, you can carefully remove the affected limbs. Avoid removing healthy limbs or you’ll see less flowering later in spring.

Transplant Perennials, Trees, and Shrubs

Early spring is a great time to transplant perennials or small trees and shrubs to other areas of your landscape. Perennials such as daylilies can become overcrowded. Divide them so that they have more room to grow and thrive. While you can divide most perennials in spring, some are better left alone until Fall such as irises, foxglove, lavender, and peonies. You can also move young trees and shrubs to better locations in your landscape at this time, providing that the ground is soft enough for replanting.

Apply Pre-Emergent Weed Deterrents

Although some gardeners prefer to wait until weeds emerge to treat them, others swear by pre-emergent weed treatments. Although mulch and landscape fabric can help protect your flower beds from weed invasions, herbicides are typically the solution for lawns. Early spring is the ideal time to spray for crabgrass and other weeds that infiltrate lawns. Not sure when to apply the herbicides? A good rule of thumb is to wait until you see the first lilacs around town beginning to bloom.

Mulch and Hardscaping

In early spring, you’ll want to replace old, decaying mulch with brand-new mulch in your flower beds or around trees and shrubs. As mentioned, mulch helps prevent weed growth and keeps your landscape looking neat. Also, inspect your garden paths, sidewalks, and other hardscape features as salt and rough winter weather can do damage. Spring is the ideal time to make these repairs. It’s also a good time to shop for decorative stone or other hardscape materials for your late spring projects like new patio additions or decorative flower bed borders.

McCarty Mulch & Stone features a wide selection of mulch, topsoil, and stone for landscaping and gardening needs. Purchase these materials in bulk or in smaller quantities for your upcoming spring landscape chores. McCarty Mulch & Stone offers wholesale pricing for landscapers and delivery service for our Central Indiana customers.