It is easy to forget about your landscaping during the winter months. Your property may be snowed over during this time – and even if it isn’t, the grass (and weeds) certainly aren’t growing like they do in the spring and summer. While you might be tempted to just ignore your landscaping and wait until spring arrives to deal with it then, that could be a mistake. You don’t want to fall too far behind your landscaping, so consider using the following seven tips to position yourself nicely for a successful growing season.
Do Your Pruning
Winter is a great time to do some pruning in order to prepare your trees for the upcoming warmer weather. A nice pruning job will promote new growth in the year ahead, and limbs that are allowed to get too long will start to sag over time anyway. Pruning is a relatively easy job that should only take a few minutes per small tree, and your time will be rewarded when your trees look great later this year.
Treat for Worms
Worm infestations in your lawn can lead to plenty of damage, so treat for this problem before the warmer weather comes in and really allows these critters to thrive. There are a variety of products on the market today that will help you fight the battle against worms which can damage your lawn, so check your local supply store for options.
Recover from Winter
There may be dead pieces on some of your landscaping such as bushes and shrubs, so take some time to make your way around the property and simply clean up all of your plants. You want to provide room for new growth to flourish in the coming season, but that may not happen if it has to work its way through the damage portions first.
De-Winterize as Well
Did you make any preparations for the winter freeze last fall, such as ‘winterizing’ your sprinkler system? If so, now is the time to undo what you have done. You will want to drain and test your irrigation system to make sure no problems have developed while the system was laying dormant. You don’t want to get into the middle of the warm weather only to find that your sprinkler system is no longer working, so do what you can now to get ready in advance.
Add Pre-Emergent Products
Weeding is the part of caring for a landscaped area that most people dread, so adding some pre-emergent products to your ground prior to the weeds getting started for the year can put you ahead of the game. While you still may have a few weeds make their way through into your landscaping, using pre-emergents will help keep them to a minimum. Also, if you are going to add a slow-release fertilizer, late winter or early spring is the time to do it.
Make Big Cuts
Do you have any plants which have outgrown their space and need to be cut back significantly? These kinds of cuts are similar to pruning, but they are more drastic in measure. This is a good time of year to cut back on some of your trees and shrubs that have taken over a walkway or patio, as they will be able to begin sprouting new growth in the months ahead.
Install New Plants
If you are confident that the last big freeze or snowfall of the winter is behind you, there is no reason to wait much longer to put new plantings in the ground. Take an overall look at your landscaping and decide where you should add a few new elements to bring the property to a new level for the year.