Sprucing Up for Spring

WORDS BY LAUREN MCDONALD

BY DESIGN

Spring is a time of transformation. And the months leading into the new season offer an opportunity to prepare gardens to reach their full potential.

“Our gardens this spring are apt to test our patience as we should take a ‘wait and see’ approach in determining if the Christmas freeze of 2022 did irreversible damage to our plants and landscapes,” says Dawn Hart, owner of ACE Garden Center on St. Simons. “Also keep in mind that our weather is unpredictable and that our last killing frost could occur between mid-to-late March.”

SThe way to determine if a plant was killed or just “burned” by the cold weather requires a scratch test, Hart says, which is done by taking a small sliver of the stem or limb to see if there is visible green tissue underneath.

“Where there is green tissue, the plant will regenerate any melted foliage, but in some cases plants, shrubs, trees, and vines will need to have burnt, brown and wilted foliage removed and cut back to the point you do see green tissue,” Hart says. “Dead foliage will drain energy from a plant.”

In some cases, she added, some plants may just present some surface burn on what was new tender growth. Gardeners can selectively prune the brown out or just leave it to be camouflaged by new spring growth.

Now is an important time to prepare a garden for the warmer, vibrant spring months.

Dolomitic lime and organic compost poured into flowers beds, most shrubs, vegetable gardens, fruit trees and lawn grasses will help raise the pH of the soil and ultimately make fertilizers more available to plants, Hart says.

“Once temperatures are sustainably close to 70, they may be safely fertilized to push new growth,” she says. “Some plants, especially those with tubers like cranium lilies, daylilies, irises, elephants ears, etc., may not put out until very late spring when the ground temperatures warm up.”

Soft tissue plants that have not rebounded by late May may need to be replaced. Some examples of these might include bananas, philodendroms, crinum lilies, and tender perennials.

It’s also important to keep a lawn well maintained so that it may look its best this spring. Leaves should be kept raked up to prevent a build-up of moisture and prevent fungus while the nights are still cool. This will also keep the grass free of stress as it greens up coming out of dormancy, Hart says.

“Treat for weeds now with a pre-emer - gent spray or granular herbicide,” she says. “Do not drop your lawnmower deck as a means to get the leaves up at this time, as this practice can damage already compromised grass runners and expose them to any late cold temperatures.”

And do not apply fertilizer until the lawn is actively growing, Hart says, which usually occurs in mid-to-late March.

“It’s better to wait until it’s 100% green,” she says. “Be sure to always water your lawn fertilizers in well and return to a normal irrigation schedule. Early morning is the best time to irrigate as cool nights may still be a factor at this time.”

If rye grass was grown over the winter, Hart says the granular herbicide will kill the remaining rye.

“This is desirable due to the fact that struggling rye grass in spring will draw away nutrients and water from a rebounding turf grass,” she says.

Azaleas, roses and boxwoods in particular may have succumbed to what growers refer to as “winter look,” Hart says, where the extreme cold temperatures present in the plant foliage a red or bronzy appearance to accompany their first blooms.

“The normally green foliage will eventually push past this but may be considerably into late spring before emerging,” Hart says.

Shrubs and azaleas blooming in early spring should not be pruned until after they bloom, while summer blooming shrubs — or those that bloom in May or later — may be safely pruned through the end of March, Hart says.

“In mid-to-late March, the first fertilization may be applied around the drop line of shrubs, roses, ground covers, vines, palms and trees including fruit and citrus trees,” she says.

“Pre-emergent herbicides can be applied to landscape bed, taking care not to spray on a windy day when drift can affect desirable plantings.”

To prevent the spread of disease during cooler nights, Hart says pruners should be sterilized often with an alcohol/water solution in a household sprayer bottle. Boxwoods are particularly susceptible to blight if they are pruned when their foliage is wet from dew, irrigation, or rainfall, she says.

“So avoid pruning under those circumstances,” she says. Safely prune back Lantana and other perennials to about 5-6 inches from the ground now before plants start putting on new spring growth, Hart says.

“Remove any dead material from perennial, annual, and vegetable beds,” she says. “If leaves have accumulated over the season, be sure to rake out and apply a new 3-inch layer of mulch, which will help suppress any emerging spring weeds.”

This is also a good time to divide or move perennials, groundcovers, or ferns, she added, while simultaneously eliminating any diseased or dead growth.

“Keep fertilizing pansies, violas, snapdragons, and other winter flowers if still viable to prolong their color and health and kiss the winter doldrums goodbye,” Hart says.