Spring Clean-Up

Well, it is finally spring here in Michigan and I am thankfully getting work in peoples gardens. Mostly I have been busy cleaning the leaves out of the beds and trimming down the dead perenials from last year. I have pruned a few late summer shrubs. I know better than to touch my spring shrubs.

I generally pick up a lot of branches and twigs this time of year and spend a fair amount of time thatching peoples grass, kind of inadvertently as I try to remove all the debris from the grass. Throw down some seed in the bare spots. I'm not so concerned about a few leaves as those actually can inhibit weeds and mulch your lawn. I'm mostly concerned with the stuff that is falling out of the trees and matting the grass down. Or causing uneven lumps, et al. But I do know better than to start mowing before the ground heats up a bit. Let the grass get a little growth in before you hit it with the mower. The forsythia should be in full bloom and then you are ready to mow.

I don't prune any roses until mothers day in Michigan. That is the rose law. And wait till the end of April to fertilize...we get freezes and you want to discourage new growth until danger of hard freezing is past.

I do put down a nice slow release fertilizer and some plant tone on all my plants before I mulch them. I prefer to use a dark hardwood mulch, or pine bark mulch. Cypress mulch is generally destroying old growth forest which takes hundreds of years to regrow...duh...that's a no brainer in my book. And the cheaper mulch you get at the gas station is often ground up planks that rob nitrogen from your plants. And they need that nitrogen. The dyed stuff is equally onerous.

I personally avoid regular Preen, which a lot of people are putting down right now. I like the organic Preen OR just go by some corn gluton for a lower price. This is a weed inhibitor which you want to put down now to prevent weeds from germinating. But if you want your plants to self seed, well any kind preen or corn gluton will put a damper on that.

Now is a good time to go and trim that rose of sharon...oohhh...I need to do that. doh!

Also, if the squirrels and deer ate or dug up all your tulips...you may want to switch to daffodils...they do better here in Michigan. Last longer to.

Alright...I guess that enough for today. Thanks for tuning in and check me out this website:

http://www.coolgardenthings.net/blog

or

http://www.gartengrl.blogspot.com

Tags: Gardening Garden Maintenance Perennials Annuals

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