Spring Clean Up

Posted on March 10, 2025

Break out those gloves and pruning shears and clean up your garden because spring will be here in less than two weeks! With the weather beginning to warm up, it’s a good idea to jump on pruning tasks before plants come out of dormancy. You’ll also want to address winter breakage/damage due to heavy snow, salt, and plows!

CLEAN UP & PLAN AHEAD

  • Look for heavily damaged branches and foliage and prune them off (Be patient when waiting for plants to recover from winter! It may just take some extra time for buds to break)
  • Apply Gypsum to any areas with heavy salt damage
  • Plan what and where you want to plant this year and start seeds indoors if you haven’t already!

LAWN

  • Test your soil pH: Make sure your soil is in excellent condition before it comes time to plant new grass seed
  • Great time to put down lime if needed to increase your soil’s pH
  • Keep in mind that soil temps need to be at least 50 degrees for seed to germinate

Potted Plant Care

  • Begin fertilizing houseplants and overwintered plants as they come out of dormancy
  • Use Van Wilgen’s All Purpose Slow Release for healthy plants
  • Check any bulbs for growth and water if the soil feels dry

FRUIT TREES

  • Prune fruit trees now before bud break. Peach trees typically leaf out before other fruits, so it’s a good idea to prune those first
  • Spray Dormant Oil and Copper Fungicide now BEFORE issues start to show. Avoid spraying during blooming time
    • Dormant Oil pre-treats pest and disease issues and smothers overwintering insect eggs and larvae
    • Copper Fungicide pre-treats issues like fire blight, cedar apple rust, and peach leaf curl

SUMMER BLOOMING TREES & SHRUBS

  • Prune summer-blooming plants at the end of winter or early spring before they flush out
    • Butterfly Bush
    • Rose-of-Sharon
    • Crape Myrtle
    • Caryopteris
    • Panicle & Smooth Hydrangeas
  • Be careful about which hydrangea you prune. DO NOT cut Mophead Hydrangea or they will not bloom

ROSES

  • Roses like to be pruned once per year in late winter/early spring after your last frost date