Spring Is in the Air!
By: Justin Novosad and Randa Homann, Woodlake Outdoor
With the arrival of spring, it’s time to revitalize the landscape – start with a landscape clean-up!
Make Your Bed
Starting with the planted beds, begin by removing the winter debris. Leaves and branches have undoubtedly blown in, fallen, and by other means made their way into your beds! With those removed, you’ll find the weeds that have taken advantage of the seasonal cover – be sure to remove the winter weeds to make way for your spring planting.
As long as it’s early enough in the spring, complete any remaining pruning. Know your plants: some varieties will bloom on old wood, others on new. Old wood flowering plants are to be pruned right after they have flowered in the spring.
For your ornamental grasses and perennials, now is the time for cutbacks to encourage the season’s new growth. Deadhead any plants with remaining flowers. This helps maintain plant appearance and boost performance.
Adding peat moss or a pro-bedding mix will set up your plants for brilliant performance in the summer. Also add nutrients (a balanced phosphorus amendment) to your soil to increase flower bloom.
With the beds cleaned out, now is an excellent time to apply a pre-emergent herbicide. This will give you a jump start on spring and summer weeds by not allowing new weed seeds to germinate.
Before looking to the turf, be mindful of edges – around your planting beds as well as tree rings. A clearly defined line of where plants-meet-turf will give your landscape a crisp, clean appearance. Applying a new layer of mulch helps with the definition and curb appeal, as well as assisting the soil and plant health.
Hold Your Ground
For your turf, begin by mowing to an appropriate height to remove dead waste. This cutback helps prevent thatch and will allow the spring grass to grow more quickly. Also apply a post-emergent if the turf has winter weeds, and a pre-emergent to guard against summer weeds.
Aerate compacted areas, such as athletic fields, playgrounds, and heavily trafficked areas, to allow the roots to breathe and to stimulate new growth. Compacted soil does not receive fertilizer as readily, so fertilizing after aeration will increase the efficiency with which the nutrients are delivered to the roots.
Finally, be sure to redefine any exterior turf edges (along walkways, for example) for a nice clean look. Add a slow release nitrogen for steady growth while quickly greening up the landscape.
With the spring clean-up complete, your stage is set for a spectacular growing season!
At Woodlake Outdoor, our goal is to continuously enhance and increase the value of the properties we maintain. Let us apply our extensive Texas-based landscape management and horticultural expertise to your property.
