Landscape and Lawn Care Maintenance Tips for Winters with little snow
Without snow cover to protect your lawn from traffic I have been noticing that footprints are showing up in the turf. When the grass is frozen or there is a frost on the lawn, the small plants cannot deal with the weight of someone stepping on them the way that happens when the blades are turgide. Keep an eye on the delivery guy and make sure guests are not taking the shortest route if that involves walking on the grass. I have seen paths develop during the winter if the same area keeps getting trampled. Lawn care for the Spring should include some fertlizer when the grass starts growing toward the end of March. Try a half rate fertlizer application of some water soluble Nitrogen, that is not dependented on warm soil tempertures to break down the Nitrogen source to make it available to the plant. This time will be too early for Crabgrass control, so I would recommend a straight fertilzer product and not a Step 1 bag containing crabgrass control. Some seeding could be done at this time, especailly in shady areas where the crabgrass will not compete as well.
With no snow on the ground, you can access the Winter Landscape for projects and services that you did not get done either because of the rush of the Holidays or the clean-up from the October snowstorm created quite a bit more work than usual during Fall Clean-up. Cut back any perennials and ornamental grasses that were neglected and are not being used for winter interest in the garden. Pruning is a task that can be done, with no leaves on some of your plants, it is easier to see the branching structure and determine what can be eliminated. Extermely heavy renovation of shrubs like Taxus Yews might be better done in early Spring, when plants will be closer to the new growth leafing out.
I was able to cut back several Hydrangeas this Fall. Some of our customers had plants that were getting quite wide and needed to have the bottom branches removed. As the plants get bigger, you can sometimes remove the roots and all and create another plant. I will let you know how successful I was with that technique. I have been trying to figure out how to prune Hydranges and it seems to me June and July is the time to be cutting them back. However, since they are often beautifully in bloom then, it has been difficult to convince customers to have us do this maintenance service during the summer. The best advice I found was to plant Hydrangeas where they will not have to be pruned. Although the way they spreadout with new shoots they just keep getting wider. But perhaps hacking off a protion and transplanting it is not considered pruning.
Check back as I get more adventerous with learning more about pruning Hydrangeas this season.
