EVERYBODY CLEAN CleanCleanUp,Up

SPRING CLEANUP DO'S AND DON'TS

q Rake out old piles of matted leaves and toss them in your compost pile. If they are thawed and not too wet, you can shred them with your lawnmower and toss them back in the garden, but don’t leave whole piles of smushed-together leaves or they will just make moldy wet patches in the garden that can smother emerging plants.

q Cut back perennials and remove old debris and flower/seed heads. Add them to the compost pile as long as you had no fungal issues last year (peonies, black-eyed Susan, and phlox can sometimes have fungal issues that overwinter, so it’s best to throw those away vs. adding to the compost pile).

q Cut grasses all the way down to the ground as far as you can go. It’s best to do this as early as possible so the sun can warm the crown and encourage new growth. Some grasses come up earlier than others (feather reed grass comes up way early!), so cutting grasses back is a good early spring chore. Pro tip: Cinch the “waist” of taller grasses with a bit of twine to hold them all in one bunch so the tops don’t blow all over while you are removing them. You can use an electric hedge trimmer, hand saw, or pruners to cut at the bottom. The twine keeps it all neat and tidy.

q Trim roses back to about 12-18 inches tall, removing any dead canes. Trim them to an even height and make sure mulch or leaves aren’t piled around their bases anymore. Fertilize and treat with systemic insect controls to prevent budworm and Japanese beetles.

q DO NOT TRIM SPRING FLOWERING SHRUBS OR TREES or you will lose their blooms for this year. Lilacs, viburnum, dogwood and other spring bloomers set their flower buds the previous year. If you prune them now before they flower, you’ll be cutting off all of your new flowers! Watch your landscaper/lawn mower if someone else is doing your cleanup. No spring pruning! It is safe, however, to trim hydrangea, weigela, forsythia, and other summer/fall bloomers as they bloom on new growth, but stay away from your favorite lilacs! Rule of thumb for spring flowering shrubs: Prune in June.

q Fluff up your old mulch and only top dress as necessary. There is no need to dump tons of mulch on your gardens each year. Only add more if your base is less than 2 inches or so. I don’t use hardwood mulch in my established perennial gardens. I add a light layer of compost/leaf litter every year and turn it in as I weed and clean up. Perennials and ground covers spread better when