Welcome Spring!

Welcome Spring—it’s finally here!  Now it’s time to begin cleaning up the landscape and planning for spring planting. 

SPRING PRUNING: Check your landscape and look for damaged trees and shrubs that may be in need of pruning.  Pruning is done for three reasons: to train and redirect growth; to maintain the health of your plant by removing dead or diseased wood; and to increase the quality, or quantity, of fruit or flowers.  Trees and shrubs are pruned differently. When pruning a tree, first prune away dead, diseased or crisscrossing branches. Once completed, prune your tree for form. Make the smallest cuts first, and the largest ones last. Never top a tree and never remove more than 25 percent of the foliage limbs in any one season.  When pruning shrubs first remove long shoots that ruin the shape of the plant. Also look for dead, diseased or crisscrossing branches. Cut older branches down to the ground. Then, shape your shrub for the look you favor. If shrubs
aren’t thinned or cut back, they will become overgrown and crowded. A healthy shrub will benefit by being pruned back about a third of its size each year. Do not prune spring blooming shrubs in the spring. Spring blooming shrubs should be pruned after they are finished blooming. Only summer and fall blooming shrubs should be pruned in early spring.  Wait until after new leaf buds form, but before new growth begins. A heavy pruning at this time will result in a more vigorous plant with an abundance of flowers.
  
PREPARE YOUR SOIL: Whether you are creating a new bed, planting in an existing one or working on your lawn, soil preparation is the key to your success this spring!   When you can start to work your soil again, start to prepare it for planting. In garden beds, soil should be prepared 10-12" deep. In Northern Ohio, most of our soil is heavy in clay. While clay soil is very high in nutrients, it does not allow water to drain properly.  To make drainage easier I recommend using a Clay Soil Conditioner and a good Planting Mix to loosen the clay in your soil and remedy this problem. You can also mix organic matter, like compost, with your existing soil. Once you “loosen” your soil, I recommend testing your soil for nutrients. A wide array of home soil test kits are available. If your soil pH registers below 5 ½, you neutralize it by adding lime. If the pH is above 7 ½, add an acidifier like sulfur to your soil. While amending your soil, I suggest that you use natural products and never use more than a 50/50 mix of amendment to soil. Lastly, work your soil 2-4 weeks before planting to let the soil settle.   

GET A JUMP ON WEEDS: By using a pre-emergent weed preventer in your gardens now you will be able to save yourself the time and headache of weeding later this spring.   Pre-emergents like Preen or Miracle Gro for Weed Prevention are available at most garden supply stores. Take the time to read the directions closely because certain garden plants and seeds will not grow well with these products.   Happy spring and happy gardening!