Hmmmmmm. I think spring is really here now. We, at Zone4, are just finishing up with our spring cleanups. It was a tough winter here in the Catksills. There was a tremendous amount of winter burn on evergreens, especially the broadleaf evergreens and a lot of rabbit and deer damange. I am, of course, a garden geek, and love a clean spring garden pristine. After a good spring cleanup you can see the structure of the garden have a clean palette for the new growth and show of early ephemerals, bulbs and sexy new shoots emerging from their slumber.
For a typical spring cleanup we do the following:
Cut back all of the carcasses from perennials and grasses that we left over the winter. I nearly always leave the seed heads and spent foliage of native plants because the wildlife feeds on the seed heads and I like the way the dried foliage and seed heads rising above the snow. It is one of the advantages of using native plants and I use a lot of native plants in my designs.
Rake out the remaining leaves to give new growth an easier time. I also like to pick the leaves that are caught in the center of certains shrubs (definitely spruce and junipers) because the leaves obstruct airflow and I believe increase the chance of fungal disease. It also just looks nicer to start the season without all of the dead leaves.
Cut back winter damage from shrubs and tress. Even a mild winter will finish off some branches that are ready to go but a harsh winter can do quite a bit of damage. The first thing I do is cut away all of the dead wood, winter burn and deer chewed limbs that I can to restore some sort of shape that shows some promise that the plant might be something other than ugly by mid-July. Things do recover although the wait can be painful.
Deciduous shrubs will definitely bounce back and probably benefit from the pruning. Even most conifers can revive as well but it can take fortitude and patience to leave a beautiful conifer with a deer chewed hole in it. Sometimes you just can’t cut it back far enough to hide the mutilation. Broadleaf evergreens like rhododendrons, boxwoods, hollies and pieris (common name –andromeda) can look really terrible but they will put out new growth just like a deciduous shrub but again EXTREME patience is required.
The rabbits were on a rampage this winter and munched down lots of shrubs and girdled many shrubs. The eaten plants will recover and cross your fingers that there is enough bark left on the shrubs and small trees for the plants to feed their roots and recover. Sometimes it amazes me at nature’s resilience; a plant can appear completely girdled and somehow it survives long enough for the cambium layer to heal enough for them to keep on truckin’.
Many plants manage to heave themselves half-way or all-the-way out of the ground in the winter. Mostly they will survive and thrive if pushed back into the ground before their roots have a chance to dry out. A good fall mulching can help with this problem but we can’t always get around to that as home gardeners and sometimes it just does not seem worth the time and expense.
Edge the beds. I personally like crisp edges on most beds. Edges and boundaries with nice contours make a huge contribution to the overall structure, and success of a landscape design. Where beds meet turf areas, I generally create a slight trench, 4”-6”, with sharp cuts between the turf and bed soil to define the bed and make it easier to keep the grass from invading. I mostly manage the edges with a weed-whacker on its side (a personal technique) but the spring is a good time to take a flat shovel and reclaim these edges for the season. If your bed borders are stone or wood, or whatever, it is a good time to clean them up to get a fresh start for the season.
Prune the trees and shrubs that don’t bloom on old wood. Spring is a great time to prune many shrubs and trees, any that don’t bloom on old wood or are not grown for their blooms It is extra cool because you can get started with this task even before the ground thaws and it is easier to see what you are doing before the foliage complicates matters. Begin with cutting off the prior year’s blooms and taking out any dead wood. Dead wood is an invitation to pest and disease. Take out crossed branches and thin out up to 1/3 of the branches with an eye toward creating a nice shape and encouraging new growth for a fluffy, full plant. This post is getting tooooooooo long and I could write a book on pruning and many have so I am going to have to save the details for another post. These are some of the shrubs that grow in our area that you can prune in the spring: Hydrangeas (all but the blue ones if you are still trying to get to those to bloom here and oakleaf), Spirea, Potentilla, Fothergilla, Clethra, Calycanthus, Diervilla and the list goes on. If you are unsure please look it up on the web; there are many sources. Here is a couple links to som pretty good charts:
You can learn more about pruning from this WSP sponsor post from my colleague and dear friend Karin Ursula Edmondson:
http://www.watershedpost.com/sponsored/2013/pruning-season
Please check out the other WSP landscaping sponsors. I guarantee you will be thrilled with my colleagues and friends services: Melissa at Roots to Shoots and Brent at Lasting Impressions.
My next post will be about the joy of the early spring garden.
Shoot me an email at mel@zone4landscapes.com or give us a call at 845-676-4994 for a free consultation.
