Spring Preparation
We survived the Snowpocalypse and the sub-sub-subzero temperatures for another year. When the temperatures rise and the grass starts to green, it’s time to think about spring planting. If you want your garden and flower beds looking lush and colorful this season, then it’s time to prepare.
Order Your Plants Now
Just because there might be a little frost in the mornings, doesn’t mean you can’t purchase your seeds and get ready for planting.
Ekana Nursery & Landscaping accepts special requests. Let them help you find that certain plant you have been wanting.
Find the Pests Now While They’re Sleeping
Most pests that devour your plants hibernate through the winter and now is a great time to hunt them down. If you have any perennials, check for slugs, aphids and other bugs hiding out on their crowns.
Compost piles and old potting soil are perfect hiding places for larvae and other insects. They’ll feed on your plant roots. If you do find any larvae, expect a few to make it through. You’ll have to treat your plants for them after planting.
Get Your Flower and Garden Beds Ready
Your flower beds have sat dormant for the last several months, but it’s time to get them ready. Once the ground has thawed, go out and remove any weeds, rocks and other debris that might compete with your plants for space and nutrients.
Weeds should be burned or thrown in a compost heap before they get the chance to germinate.
It is also a great time to get some fertilizer or compost put down. How about a fresh layer of mulch?
Prepare and Clean Your Tools
Many people store their tools over the winter, but hardly ever clean and oil them. You might run some water over them to get the old dirt off, but few do a deep clean. Why do you want to clean your tools every year? Bacteria and fungus can grow on the tools and spread to your plants.
Shears and other implements used to prune trees and shrubs easily transfer bacteria and mold to their cuts.
Start the cleaning with soapy hot water and scour and scrub the tools until clean. Since they’re all out, why not sharpen them too? When you’re done, spray everything with a layer of WD40 or other lubricant.
When and What to Prune
Early spring is a good time to prune your trees and shrubs to give them the best chance at blooming. Pruning in the early spring is more for cleanup than anything else. Remove any dead branches and branches that are diseased or damaged. They’re popular with insects and other pests.
Take care of crossing branches, shoots that come up from the ground and shoots that are on trunks or sides of branches. Pruning during the early spring is easier because without the leaves, you have a good view of the overall structure of the trees and shrubs.
Remember a good rule of thumb for blooming plants is spring bloomers are pruned in summer and summer bloomers are pruned in spring.
Ekana Nursery and Landscaping has everything you need for spring planting this year. Stop by or contact us and let our gardening experts answer your planting questions.