Start the season off right with a few early spring garden chores
Gardening chores come fast and furious once warm weather hits and sometimes you don’t have time to fit it all in. That’s why late winter is a great time to get a few of the spring jobs started. It’s a great way to reduce stress later.
That’s why I asked Daryl Beyers, an instructor at The New York Botanical Garden and author of The New Gardener’s Handbook: Everything You Need to Grow a Beautiful & Bountiful Garden, to share a checklist for getting a jump start on the season.
6 Tasks for your early spring checklist
1. Start with your garden soil
Soil is, quite literally, the foundation upon which every garden grows, and spring is a great time to prepare it for the season or make improvements. If you amend your soil early in the year, the plants will have the nutrients when they need them most. “Most plant growth takes place in those first few months of the season, so add a layer of granular organic fertilizer like Espoma® Flower-Tone on top of the soil and then protect the soil from erosion with a light layer of mulch to get your small trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials off to a great start,” he says. In addition, check for bare spots in ornamental beds where mulch has decomposed or shifted and add an inch or two of fresh mulch or compost.
Don’t start spring cleanup too early
But don’t start too early: “If you live in a region with snowy winters, you’ll have to wait for the snow to thaw before working on your beds,” he says. “Soil is fragile, and you can irreversibly compact yours if you stomp around in your beds before they have time to thaw and drain.”
2. Clean up winter damage in the garden
In early spring, even before the snow thaws, Daryl suggests a walk through the garden to inspect trees and shrubs for winter damage, like broken branches from heavy snow or ice or damage to young tree bark from critters like woodchucks or deer. If you find broken limbs, prune them while plants are still dormant.
Always use clean, sharp tools meant for the size of the cut: Hand pruners are best for branches with a diameter no larger than a pencil; employ long-handled loppers for any limbs up to 1½ inches in diameter, and use a handsaw for anything bigger than 3 inches in diameter.
Protecting & dealing with winter damage
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If you find winter damage to a tree’s trunk, Daryl suggests loosely tying burlap around the wound to protect it. Just be sure to check on it monthly and remove it as soon as the wound has healed.
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You might also come across winter burn on evergreens, such as the boxwood above. This is caused by winter winds drying out evergreen foliage. These stems won’t recover so go ahead and prune them off as well.
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By the way, late winter’s dormancy is also the best time to transplant trees and shrubs. So as soon as the ground can be worked, dig and replant them before buds break.
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3. Treat perennials early for common disease
Garden phlox and peonies often have beautiful blooms like those you see in the photos above, but then after they bloom, their foliage succumbs to ugly powdery mildew like this or blackspot. “You can stop these diseases before they start by treating them with a store-bought organic fungicide or make your own by mixing 4 teaspoons of baking soda into a gallon of water with a few drops of dish soap,” Daryl says. Spray plants after they have sprouted several inches from the soil and you should be set for the season.
The trick is to inoculate them when they are young so the fungus never gets a foothold. “Keep in mind that fungal infections can be prevented,” he says, “but not cured. So once you see it, it’s too late.” The only remedy then is to cut off the infected parts and dispose of them. Never put diseased plant parts in your composting pile. It may contaminate your compost and when you spread it on your soil, it could be a problem throughout your garden.
4. Clear the way for spring-blooming bulbs
Flower bulbs like tulips and daffodils are the harbingers of spring, so be sure to go outside in those early weeks of the season and look for yours. Clear away autumn leaves as bulb foliage emerges to encourage strong growth and avoid long, pale weak stems (although if you find those, they will recover).
Consider transplanting bulbs after they bloom
As your bulbs finish flowering, be sure to let the leaves finish too. They will photosynthesize and recharge the bulb for next year. “I try to deadhead the flowers too, so the plant doesn’t put energy into making seeds, but puts everything it can into making a strong bulb for next year,” he adds. “After the flowers fade but before the foliage finishes is a good time to transplant bulbs,” says Daryl. “Simply deadhead them, then dig them out with their leaves intact, and transplant the whole plant or divide it into several clumps and replant those.”
5. Check in on tender plants and bulbs in storage
Savvy gardeners don’t treat dahlias and cannas like annuals. Although these tubers and rhizomes are cold hardy in USDA zones 7 and 8, gardeners in colder zones can store them indoors over the winter and replant in spring. “But you’ll need to check on them as spring approaches to make sure they aren’t starting to sprout too soon,” says Daryl. “If you do see sprouts — they will look pale and ghostly — try to slow them down by keeping them in the dark as best you can.” The pink growth points on these cannas are still just fine to tuck away until you’re ready to plant.
Plant them up!
But if you see sprouts that are more than 4 inches long, you’ll need to plant them right away. Be careful, because at this stage they are very delicate. “If you break the shoots off you will set them back and delay their progress as they expend energy to make new ones,” he adds. In colder regions with late frosts, pot them up and set them in a cold frame or a place where you can protect them, like a sun room or a greenhouse, if you are lucky enough to have one. After all the threat of frost has passed, plant them in prepared beds and you’ll be good to go.
6. Prep your containers for the season
Spring is such a busy time in the garden. Get simple chores done beforehand so you have time for more labor-intensive tasks later on. “Growing lots of plants in pots is one of those things,” he says, “so to get a jump on that spring task, fill pots with potting mix a few weeks before you bring home the plants.
Sanitize containers
If you forgot to clean out last year’s containers, be sure to sanitize them by scrubbing them out with a solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach diluted in a gallon of warm water. Scrub them inside and out with a stiff bristle brush and rinse them a few times before you fill them with fresh mix.
Give your container garden a head start
Get ahead of the game by filling each pot to the rim with dry, fluffy potting mix — and a few scoops of organic fertilizer — then set them outside. Spring rains will saturate and settle the mix, leaving the perfect amount of space for the root balls of your new plants.
Another great idea is to shop for your pots early in the season. Some garden centers put last year’s stock on sale before the new shipment arrives, so you can often find a real deal. If you are growing your container collection, but have to keep to a budget, Daryl suggests simply buying one really nice new pot every year.
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