Here is a great check off list to take care of your outdoor garden and turf for all seasons:
Spring
- Clean winter’s debris (lawn and shrub beds)
- Remove lawn thatch
- Prune winter injury to trees and shrubs
- Cut back dead ornamental grasses
- Uncover perennials, assess and fertilize
- Uncover roses, prune dead and fertilize
- Remove excessive mulch on trees and shrubs
- Apply lawn pre emergent herbicide (Before the Forsythia drop their flowers)
- Apply pre emergent control to shrub beds
- Apply supplemental fertilizer lawn
- Spring tune-up on irrigation.
- Commence mowing (rule of thumb, only remove 1/3 grass blade length)
- Treat broad-leaf weeds
- Monitor for insect and diseases
- Dead head tulip and daffodils
- Weed perennial bed as need
- Select and install annuals (fertilize with time release product) (dry locations plant with hydro gel for water retention)
- Prune shrubs that have flowered
- Raise mowing height to 3.5” when summer’s heat arrives
- Spot treat weed in beds with contact herbicide
- Don’t mow lawns that are stressed (Easy method to define stress, if you walk across the lawn and after 3 hours the path is visible the lawn need to be watered.)
- Weed and spruce up bed edges
- Turn on irrigation (it is better to water well a few times a week then water a little daily , never water in the evening, a lawn should be dry during the night to discourage disease. Apply water in the early morning before your shower (this cuts down on midday evaporation). About and 1” of water per week is good for an established lawn on 6” of loam. A simple method to see how much is being applied it to put a cup in the irrigation area and measure the amount of water. Various soil types will require water adjustment depending on the lawn appearance.
- Monitor for insect and diseases
- Prune needle evergreens and shrubs that have flowered
- Monitor lawns, shrubs , annuals and trees for stress
- Tend perennials and annuals ( dead head and remove dead materials)
- Late summer apply lawn grub control
- Do not prune shrubs after September 30 until Mid November. One does not want to encourage tender growth that will be damaged by winter
- Install fall mums
- Slice seed thin lawn areas
- Aerate compacted lawn areas
- Fertilize lawn
- Late fall install pansy
- Tend perennials ( dead head ,divide and remove)
- Turn off irrigation
- Monitor insect and diseases
- Fall clean up
- Clean gutters and drains
- Winterize water features
- Install spring bulbs
- Prune trees, A perfect time to see tree structure. Avoid removing more than 15% of the tree mass. Perfect time to inspect for tree hazards.
- Apply and anti-desiccants to broad leaf evergreens to reduce winter sun scald . New planting are also benefit for and application. Two applications are recommended December and February.
- Water new plant one last time before the ground freeze.
- Relax and plot your next season gardening projects
- Take a class in horticulture
- Attend the regional flower show
- Late winter prune fruit trees
- Apply dormant oil when temperatures stay above 40 degrees for a day’s cycle.