Spring is a busy time in the garden, but thank goodness you don’t have to cram every garden task into just one season! There are plenty of things to do in the other three seasons. Pruning and clean-up can be the biggest tasks on your list. Below is an outline of some benefits of spring versus fall clean-up to help you make the right decisions for you and your garden. Reasons to wait until spring to clean up perennials: • The particular plant may provide some winter interest that can be quite attractive. Ornamental grasses, tall sedum and dry hydrangea blooms are examples of nice winter interest. • The perennial could be a food source for winter birds. Coneflowers (Echinacea), ornamental grasses and milkweed (Asclepias) produce seed heads that birds will eat during winter if they can’t find other food sources.
• Some perennials are easier to clean up in spring. Daylily (Hemerocallis) and hosta foliage falls away from the base of the plants in spring and is easy to rake away. • Dried foliage may help protect the plant in the winter months by providing a cover to the crown (where the root mass meets the stems) of the plant. Chrysanthemums benefit from keeping their foliage over winter. • The foliage can also act like a marker for the location of the plant, keeping it from being trampled by kids and pets during winter. Reasons to clean up your perennials in fall • Some perennials don’t have attractive foliage after a hard frost. Foliage turns black after a hard frost on Brunnera, Ligularia, and Japanese anemones. • Perennials susceptible to disease or known to harbor overwintering insects should be cut back in fall. Peonies, bee balm (Monarda), and bearded irises are particularly susceptible to fungus, borers and scale during the winter months. • Some perennials self-sow from seed heads and spread too aggressively the next spring. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), coneflower (Echinacea), blanket flower (Gaillardia) and evening primrose are perennials that can come up in spring from the seeds leftover from the previous season. • As fall tends to be a less busy gardening season than spring, you may have more time to devote to cutting back and cleaning up perennials in fall. The landscape and garden is an extension of your home, and it benefits from the same amount of attention you give the inside of your home. A well-manicured landscape has been proven to increase the value of a home. Here is a quick list of tasks for each season to guide you and help you get the most from your landscape and garden. Winter To-Do-List Winter is the least busy season in the garden. There is very little to do besides admire plants that provide winter interest and plan for next spring. It is good for the soul to take a rest and let your plants rest. Reflect on your accomplishments from the past growing season and contemplate what you might want to tackle next spring. Leaf through garden magazines and catalogs, visit websites, and watch gardening shows in search of interesting plants to purchase. Now that most plants are devoid of leaves, you can observe perennials that may look overcrowded and need dividing. Shrub and tree limb structures may reveal crossed or damaged branches that need trimming. Winter is a great time to trim trees, so go ahead and take care of any structural issues. However, there are a few varieties to avoid trimming in winter due to heavy sap flow – maple, birch, elm, and dogwood should be trimmed in summer. If you left some decorative items in the garden for the fall season, you may want to tidy them up before winter arrives. Did you leave an accent item such as an obelisk, birdbath or figurine in the garden? You may want to move it to the shed or garage to protect it from snow and ice. Pots left out during fall are susceptible to cracking from soil expanding during periods of freezing temperatures. Take a moment to move pots to a sheltered spot in an unheated garage or shed. You can also remove the soil and place the pots upside-down on some 2x4’s to keep the edges off the ground and protect them from cracking. Another option is to cover them with plastic or burlap. Some plants may need an extra blanket of mulch to help them get through the winter months. Plants such as roses, camellias and crape myrtle benefit from a thick layer of mulch applied around the stems and crown after the ground is frozen. Use commercial hardwood mulch, evergreen boughs, straw or leaves. If you are in a warm climate, keep in mind that plants may need a drink of water if rainfall is not adequate. Winter drought can be just as detrimental as summer drought. Winter is the perfect time to get tools and supplies ready for spring. Take a moment to see if your tools need cleaning, sharpening or the joints oiled. In late winter to early spring, prune summer-flowering shrubs such as butterfly bush (Buddleia), sweetshrub (Calycanthus), Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus), and panicle hydrangeas. Because these plants bloom on the current season’s growth, you’ll want to remove any unwanted branches before new growth starts. Spring To-Do List Early spring is a refreshing time of year. It is a joy to watch the landscape come to life after a long winter nap. Fall-planted tulips, daffodils and crocus bulbs emerge and start blooming before trees and shrubs have even leafed out. Remove any mounded much from plants such as roses, camellias and crape myrtle as leaf buds begin to appear. Spray dormant oil when temperatures are 35-40°F. Use on fruit trees, roses and any other perennial or shrub that may have an issue with overwintering insects. Dormant oil suffocates soft-bodied insects and mites in the egg and larvae stages, preventing them from maturing into adults. It also protects against fungus such as powdery mildew. Trim back perennial foliage that was left for winter interest such as ornamental grasses, coneflower (Echinacea) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia). Perennials can easily be divided to remedy overcrowding or if you want to enjoy them in a different location. It is easier to dig up and move plants in early spring before they begin to flush out new growth. Gently rake beds to remove any accumulated leaf debris that may be covering up perennials or bulbs. Daylily and hosta foliage is very easy to rake away in spring. The dead leaves simply fall away from the crown of the plants. Spring is the time to start seeds indoors. Some seeds take longer than others to germinate and begin growing. Check seed packets for the number of weeks needed before you can safely plant outdoors. Most items fall in the six to eight week range. Apply pre-emergent weed control on your lawn to prevent annual grassy weeds like crabgrass from germinating. Pre-emergent weed control is usually combined with a high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer to green up the grass for a dual-purpose application. Spring is a good time to put down grass seed to start a new lawn, or reseed to cover bare spots or to thicken an established lawn. Plant newly-purchased perennials, bulbs, shrubs and trees while the weather is mild so your plants experience less transplant shock. Spring planting gives them time to acclimate to their new location before the hot summer months arrive. Apply pre-emergent weed control in flower beds to prevent any overwintering weed seeds from germinating, then apply 2-3 inches of mulch. The mulch will conserve moisture, help keep weeds down and provide an aesthetically pleasing finish to the landscape. Prune spring-flowering shrubs right after they have finished blooming. Forsythia, azaleas and mock orange bloom on old wood, and need plenty of time to put on new growth that will provide the next season’s blooms. Summer To-Do List Watering is probably the biggest task for the summer months besides mowing the lawn. Newly planted perennials, shrubs and trees should be watered deeply once a week if rainfall is less than one inch per week. Established plants should be fine in-between rain showers unless the weather is particularly dry. Plant annuals and vegetable plants after the danger of frost has passed. Early summer is also the time to plant summer-blooming bulbs like begonias, calla lilies, cannas and dahlias. You can start summer-blooming bulbs indoors in pots to get a head start on the season. Regularly monitor plants for potential insect and disease problems and treat with insecticides and fungicides as needed before the problem gets out of hand. Remove spent blooms on perennials to encourage more blooming. Pull or spray any weeds that pop up in your garden during the summer months. Weeds take moisture and nutrients away from your prized plants. Try to remove them while they are young and easy to pull from the soil. If you eliminate weeds before they produce a seed head, you will stop many more weeds from germinating and becoming a problem. Up until the fourth of July, pinch mums, asters and sedums to keep them compact and encourage them to bloom in fall. Cool-season vegetables can be planted for a second round of harvesting. Broccoli, kale, carrots, kohlrabi, lettuce and spinach are some vegetables that can handle cool night time temperatures in late summer and still provide a harvest. Fall To-Do List Continue to provide water to your garden if rainfall is insufficient. Plants need adequate moisture to prepare for the upcoming winter months. Bring houseplants back indoors before the evening temperature drops below 50°F. Fall is an excellent time to plant trees, shrubs, spring-flowering bulbs and perennials. The air temperature is cool, but the soil temperature is still warm. The warm soil encourages root growth, while the cool air temperature helps prevent transplant shock. After a heavy frost, you can dig up and divide perennials such as iris, hosta, daylilies and astilbe. Early fall is also time to dig up tender summer-flowering bulbs – cannas, calla lilies, dahlias and roseform begonias – and prepare them for winter storage. Give the bulbs some time to dry out slightly before placing them in storage material and moving them to a dark, cool spot that stays above freezing. Raking leaves is probably the first task that comes to mind when you think of fall. There are multiple ways to utilize leaves instead of just moving them to the curb for pick-up. Use them for winter insulation for plants such as broadleaf evergreens or roses. Scatter them over your garden where they can be plowed under to enrich the soil. Add them to your compost pile with lawn clippings and kitchen vegetable scraps to create nutrient-rich compost. If any perennials had disease or insect problems through the growing season, it’s wise to cut back the spent foliage and remove it from the garden so the pests and disease can’t overwinter. Before the ground freezes, you can plant spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, crocus and hyacinths. It’s a good idea to use a plant marker to help you remember where you planted them so you don’t accidentally dig them up before they have started sprouting in spring. If you have some compost that is ready to use, you can spread it around existing plantings to help enrich the soil for next year. Before freezing temperatures arrive, remove garden hoses from the spigot and drain any water left inside the hose so the water won’t freeze and damage the hose. Store them in a dry place over winter to extend the life of your hoses. In late fall, do a final mowing of the lawn. Empty the gas tank or add stabilizer to a full tank of gas and run the engine so the stabilizer works its way into the carburetor. This will help protect the fuel tank from corrosion from being stored for a long period of time.