With spring now officially here, its time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunny days and reflect on the winter past. For many of us it may be the time to access any damage to our lawn, shrubs and trees. For others, its time to start thinking about what project to tackle this year.
Once the snow is completely gone, its a great time to start picking up any loose debris off your lawn – twigs and branches, loose turf chuncks from snow removal, and heavy thatch from grass that has died off. With all this debris gone, its not only helps the lawn to breath better but also allows the new grass to grow back more easily. If some debris is left on too long into the spring/summer, bare patches may appear and its possible you have to call in the professionals to top dress your lawn in badly hit areas. So get out there and fill those brown paper bags!
Shrubs and tree’s can also take a severe beating from the wind, ice and snow. Broken branches, partially uprooted young trees and flattening of some shrubs by snow can all be avoided if preventive measures are taken. If your facing this situation now, than you’ll know what to do come next fall. It may be a good time as well to take note of what damage has occurred to consult with a professional this fall to help avoid a repeat of winters past.
Depending on the damage and type of shrub or tree, it may need some of its broken branches/stems pruned back to avoid disease. This is a great time of year to prune, given that you are at it early enough. If the damage that has occurred happens on an annual basis, there may be an underlying issue at hand such as snow load, lack of preventive maintenance or what I call ‘wrong shrub wrong place’. What ever the reason for damage to shrubs and trees, now is the time to address these issues before the warm growing weather begins.
Enjoy the sunny days and be sure to check back in a week for our next blog post.
Z
