03/12/2015
Some great late Winter/pre-Spring tips from Meadows Farms Nurseries and Landscape!
- Recent snow and ice storms have caused some damage to trees and shrubs. Broken branches can be pruned at anytime in March, but it is advisable to hold off on pruning viable branches only because leaves of evergreens are brown. New growth should be evident on branches by late April, and only then should dead wood be trimmed.
- The month of March is ideal for planting trees and shrubs. Planting of many perennials should wait a few weeks, and tender annuals should be delayed until the threat of freeze and frost is past.
- Frost and freezing temperatures are not unusual through March. There is no reason to be concerned as flowers of daffodils and snowdrops emerge into subfreezing temperatures. These plants are well suited to tolerating cold, and rarely are temperatures cold enough to be a problem. The same is true of winter flowering witch hazels and other late winter flowering shrubs. No additional cold protection is neccesary.
- The blooms of early flowering Star magnolias can be damaged by cold temperatures, but this does no harm to the tree. Magolias that flower a few weeks later are rarely bothered by the cold.
- March is an ideal time to begin spring lawn renovations, though overseeding with grass seed must not be done if w**d and feed fertilizer is applied. We recommend that the most effective lawn improvement is core aeration and topdressing with compost. Overseeding in early spring can help fill bare spots, or thicken an entire lawn.
- The top growth of many perennials and ornamental grasses should be cut off prior to new spring growth, which typically begins in late March or early April. The method varies between plants, but care should be taken not to grab and jerk foliage that might still be anchored so that roots are disturbed. It is best to cut rather than pull foliage.
