Spring is just around the corner

Mid to late March is a good time to aerate your lawn; top dress with about a half inch of turf-mix soil and overseed at double the rate on the package. Before seeding, maybe consider liming with a quick-acting Dolopril brand. This is assuming we don’t have a late dump of snow or a freeze.

If you are planning to install a new hedge, then these two months are best to give plants time to settle in before the heat of summer.

Watch your roses now and at the first sign of a bursting bud, prune to shape. Cut just above the new bud at an angle up and away from the bud. Prune out any branches that are crossing inward as you want all the energy to outward facing growth. Clear away accumulated debris and top dress with well-rotted manure. They love it!

Considering moving a shrub or small ornamental tree? Do it now before new growth gets in full force. Lots of water before and after and have your new hole dug at twice the diameter of the root ball. Take a good amount of soil (bare root is risky) with the root ball and move fairly quickly as you don’t want the tiny root fibres to dry.

Ornamental grasses should have been cut down before, but if not do it now. Cut to around six inches or above any new sprouting growth. If you are planting new, one of my absolute favourites is a fountain grass called Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hame-