Catch Up on These Spring Gardening Tasks
One positive aspect of having to stay at home is you may very well find yourself with extra time to garden. Here’s a rundown of some garden tasks you may be looking to check off your list.
One positive aspect of having to stay at home is you may very well find yourself with extra time to garden. Maybe you can do a more thorough job on your usual spring tasks, or perhaps it’s time to tackle those bigger dreams and projects you’ve been putting off.
Here’s a quick rundown of some garden tasks you may be looking to check off your list:
Divide perennials. This is a great way to expand your garden or help a friend start a garden, while you also improve the health and flowering of the original plant. In general, divide perennials in the season opposite of their flowering season. That is, divide summer and fall bloomers in spring, and divide spring bloomers in early fall. For more details on timing, see “When to Divide Perennials.” To see how to divide perennials, see “Learn the Proper Way to Divide Perennials from the New York Botanical Garden.”
Transplant seedlings to the outdoors. If you’ve started your own seeds indoors, it may be time or close to the time to transplant them. It depends on your climate and the plant type. For tips on transplanting, including notes on some plants that can go out perhaps earlier than expected, see “Transplanting Annual Seedlings.”
Edge your beds. Nothing creates an instant improvement like cleaning up the lines of a garden bed. To read how, go to “Edging a Bed.”
Prune when you plant. If you’re adding new perennials to your garden, it may be a good idea to cut back their top growth a bit. Here’s how and why: “If You Love It, You Will Prune It.”
Rejuvenate or renew an overgrown shrub. Have you noticed a shrub that’s outgrown its space or ceased to bloom? A hard pruning might help. Find out what to do in “Pruning Shrubs: Rejuvenation and Renewal Techniques.”
Mulch, or hold off on mulch. Again, depending on your region, it may be time to top off your mulch. If the ground is still cold and wet, though, you may need to wait a few weeks yet. Here’s more about mulching, its timing and what you might do instead: “The Early Spring Rules for Mulching.”
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