SPRING

March - May

• Apply an all-purpose slow-release fertilizer to perennials and shrubs in late March to mid-April

• Remove any additional leaves that fell through the winter

• If deer eat your crocuses and other bulbs, start using your deer repellant of choice as flowers emerge. Continue to apply as needed to plants deer love

• Add a soil acidifier around acid-loving plants such as hollies, azaleas, and rhododendrons in March

• Cut back any perennials left over from the fall

• Start irrigation system back up

• Prune any dead branches out of roses, hydrangeas, and other sensitive shrubs

• Apply preventative fungicides to any plants that suffer from serious spring fungal infections before rainy weather sets in

• Begin training climbing vines as the spring growth spurt hits

• Lawn application Round 1 is applied in March

• Spring annuals and container arrangements can go in between late March and late April depending on the desired plants

• Put down pre-emergent herbicide in planting beds in late March to mid-April

• Put down a fresh layer of mulch – be sure to keep it from touching tree trunks or burying shrubs bases

• Redefine bed edges

• If evergreen trees need to be fertilized, early March is a good time

• Overseed thin lawns and spot-seed bare spots in March

• Divide perennials as needed when they have emerged enough to find them easily but before the leaves have opened up much – this will be about 3-4” high for most plants

• Begin pulling or spraying weeds as they emerge (be sure to exercise caution and read all labels when using herbicides)

• Lawns are ready to be mowed in mid to late April

• Lawn application Round 2 is applied in late April to early May

• Put peony supports up while the new growth is still short – as the leaves expand they will hide the hoops

• Replace plants that didn’t survive the winter

• Start using slug control around hostas in May

• Pinch back leggy perennials that bloom in mid-summer by the end of May

• Deadhead spring-blooming perennials as needed

• Summer annuals can be planted in mid-May after the last freeze date

• Prune spring-blooming shrubs such as forsythia and vernal witch hazel as soon as they’re done blooming

SUMMER

June - August

• Significant tree pruning can be done in early June after the rainy season and before the weather gets hot

• Plant summer annuals in the ground and containers in June if you didn’t in May

• Pull and spray weeds through the summer (be sure to read all labels for herbicides)

• Deadhead perennials and roses to extend bloom season

• Stake leaning perennials

• Cultivate mulch for a fresh look

• During long dry spells, water drought-sensitive plants

• Cut back asters and other tall, fall-blooming plants to keep them from getting overgrown in the fall

• Trim unruly perennials like catmint and Russian sage to keep them from covering paths and other plants

• Lawn application Round 3 is applied between mid-June and mid-July

• Keep fountains filled and containers watered in the hot sun

• Prune shrubs as they get unruly

FALL

September - November

• Seed new lawns between mid-September and mid-October

• Pull and spray weeds through the fall (be sure to read all labels for herbicides)

• Aerate and overseed lawns

• Lawn application Round 4 is applied in September

• Starting in mid-September fall annuals are available for containers and in-ground planting

• Prune shrubs as they get unruly (if you prune spring-blooming shrubs in the fall, you will remove some or all of the next year’s flowers)

• Cultivate mulch for a fresh look

• Continue to deadhead perennials, roses, and hydrangeas

• Cut back many perennials as they drop their leaves and turn brown

• Leave grasses and other perennials with winter interest – little bluestem and blue false indigo can add a lot to the cold months

• Do any lawn over-seeding or seed new lawns by the end of September

• Divide and transplant perennials in mid-September and October

• Plant bulbs in October and November before the ground freezes

• Lawn application Round 5 is applied in October

• Winterize irrigation systems in October and November

• Sensitive heirloom rose varieties should be tied up with leaves as insulation

• Disconnect and drain hoses before the first freeze

• Leaf removals start in October and extend into December

• Deep root tree fertilization happens in November