Days are starting to warm-up, but still a risk of frost. Preparation for summer continues.
Here are some jobs to be getting on with over the next 2 weeks:-
Plant Maintenance
- Lift and divide any clumps of perennials that are not re-growing in the centre. This will maintain the health of the plant and increase your stock to replant elsewhere.
- Plant new herbaceous perennials as the ground starts to warm-up and you see where you have gaps in your borders.
- Prune spring flowering shrubs , like Forsythe, once they’ve finished flowering to new young shoots . These are next seasons flowering shoots.
- Deciduous Grasses – Most should be cut back to allow for this years growth . Some like Miscanthus just need individual structural stems removing.
- Evergreen Grasses – Most don’t need cutting back. Remove any brown tips , old flower spikes & dead leaves. Some large species like Cortaderia (Pampas Grass) do benefit from hard annual pruning (wear goggles and thick gloves) – if in doubt Check.
- Hedges – fill in any gaps in hedges, such as mixed native, with new plants. They will establish well this time of year.
- Fruit trees – feed and mulch (well rotten manure/compost) to support plant for this years crop. Apply balanced slow release feed – Nitrogen (N) to encourage growth, Phosphorus (P) for root growth & Potassium (K) for fruit formation.
Bulbs/Tubors
- Lift and divide or buy-in snowdrops ‘in the green’. They establish better this way than planting bulbs in autumn.
- Dead head spring bulbs like Narcissus as they finish flowering. Leave foliage to allow plant to produce next seasons bulbs/offsets.
- Plant summer flowering bulbs eg/ Crocosmia, Lillies.
- Get your Dahlia tubers out of storage. Plant up in pots under cover and grow on ready to plant out when frosts have passed.
- Seeds – sow half hardy annuals. Prick out any hardy annual seeds that have germinated under cover.
General garden jobs
- Weeds continue to grow, so keep on-top of them.
- Top dress established pots new compost and apply slow release fertiliser.
- Mulch borders with compost to retain moisture and reduce weeds.
- Ponds – Continue to keep on-top of any pond weed as water temperatures warm-up above 6°C.
- Lawns – If your grass is growing strongly, make first cut of year. Cut on a dry day, but keep mower set high. Its important to get growth established before reducing height. If its not growing strongly yet….WAIT.