The Importance of Spring Clean-Up for Landscaping

You may have heard you need to do a spring clean-up for your landscaping, but not be sure exactly what you need to do or why. This clean-up sets your landscape up to succeed from spring until it goes dormant next winter. Below are several things you need to do so you and your family can enjoy your outdoor space.

Rake Your Landscape

The first step is to remove winter debris from the landscape. A covering of damp leaves on the lawn breeds fungal infections and can cause lawn death. Rake the leaves up and pick up any branches or twigs that have fallen. It is important to rake the lawn well to get rid of any thatch buildup that can choke your lawn.

Also, rake your garden beds and flower beds to remove leaves and debris and aerate the soil. If you are going to plant seeds, rake the bed before seeding and after it. This makes sure the seeds are in good contact with the soil.

Clean Your Walkways

Walkways are supposed to keep you from stepping on your plants. They should also spare you from the mud. Clean off your paths, walkways, and driveways so that the mud and debris from winter storms are gone. This gives you a safe way to walk around your landscape and polish your property’s look.

Prune Your Trees and Shrubs

Your trees and shrubs need to be pruned for three reasons; to remove dead or diseased branches, shape the plant, and stimulate new growth.

Dead or diseased branches provide entry points for more diseases and fungal infections.

Some plants do not really need shaping, but others need it to be done every spring. Normally, you prune before the tree or shrub breaks dormancy, in the early spring. For trees and shrubs that bloom on old wood, prune right after they finish blooming. This stimulates the tree or shrub to grow more wood that will be the old wood the next spring.

Because branches take a long time to decompose, and they might be harboring pests and diseases, bag them and throw them in the trash so you do not contaminate your compost pile.

Cut Back Perennials

Leaving dead foliage on a perennial just begs disease and fungal infections to come calling. Remove diseased or damaged parts of the perennial. If the plant blooms on new wood, cut it down to a few inches above the soil line in early spring. If it blooms on old wood, cut it back right after it finishes blooming. Bag and dispose of the clippings.

Repair Your Lawn

When it comes to spring clean-up for your landscaping, evaluate your turfgrass!

Are there thin spots and spots where it is completely gone? Now is a good time to repair the turf. Rake the problem areas. Spread new seed over the raked area using your hands or, better yet, a hand-cranked fertilizer spreader. Lightly rake the seeded areas again to ensure good soil and seed contact. Water the seeds in. You will need to water the seeds more often than the rest of the lawn until the seeds sprout roots and become established.

Mulch Your Plants

Want to insulate your plants, trees, and shrubs from drought, heat, and cold? Mulch them.

Putting a three-inch layer of mulch around your trees, shrubs, and plants helps insulate them from hot and cold temperatures. It also retains water when it rains, or when you irrigate them. It then slowly releases the water to the plants when it is needed. As a bonus, it keeps weed seeds from growing around the plants.

Every year, the lower one inch of the mulch is broken down and becomes a slow-release fertilizer for your plants. Adding an inch of new mulch does two things: it maintains a depth of three inches of mulch on everything, and it brightens and renews the places it is spread.

Pro tip – do not put mulch down right after you have planted seeds. Wait until the new seedlings are over an inch tall, then carefully put down an inch of mulch. As the seedlings grow, put down more mulch until you have a three-inch layer.

Get Help Cleaning Up Your Landscape

If spring clean-up for your landscaping has made you realize you need some updating, check out our blog, 20 Landscaping Ideas for Your Front Yard to get started!

Rember, much your landscape appreciates the spring clean-up – it’s a lot of work. If you do not have the time or just aren’t interested in doing it, we can do it for you. We have the staff, equipment, and materials just waiting to deploy when you call. We can also replace any dead or dying plants, plant summer annuals, and make any changes you want.

Call us at 763-789-4788 or email us at [email protected] today and let us make your landscape shine.