Seasonal Tips

January is a good month for Kansas City gardeners to take a bit of a “breather.” If you are an intensive gardener, or if you have a large landscape to take care of, you can certainly use a break. Take time to reflect on the past growing season, review your successes and failures, and make some mental notes on how to improve your garden. If you keep a garden journal, now is an excellent time to review it. If the new year will bring the opportunity to expand or renovate an existing space, the winter months are an excellent time to contact your favorite designers or horticulturalists to begin planning. This is a month that often brings snow and ice, so pay attention to plants that may be adversely affected by heavy accumulations.
 
Generally speaking, it is best to let the plants fend for themselves—you can often do more damage to the plants trying to remove snow and ice. However, if it looks like branches may be broken by extra snow weight, you can try to sweep or brush snow off; lifting and brushing snow from the bottom up works well. Don’t try to remove ice from encrusted branches—that process almost always causes more damage than the ice itself. If you do have limbs damaged by snow or ice, prune or saw them cleanly as soon as possible. To aid in walking through the garden in winter, use sand, birdseed, vermiculite, or similar materials instead of harsh salt or ice melters to combat icy paths. Additionally, try to avoid walking on frozen turf, as this will usually damage grass plants leave unsightly brown patches in the lawn. Don’t forget our feathered friends this month, as snow and ice often cover their sources of food. Feeding (and watering) birds in the winter will help develop resident populations the rest of the year, and those birds will definitely help keep pesky, damaging insects in check.

February in Kansas City is usually a transition month, that is, the later days of the month begin to bring warmer temperatures, sunnier days, and improved dispositions for gardeners. While snow and ice are still possible, their frequency and intensity are generally waning. With the arrival of warmer days, fall planted bulbs begin to appear, perennials show fresh new foliage at their bases, and a few very early performers are in bloom. February can be a critical month for the health of plants as they transition from dormancy to early growth; that is why ensuring the landscape is well watered emerging from the deep freeze should be on the top of every landscape caretakers list. As the ground thaws, be sure to water areas that are dry, paying particular attention to evergreens, whose foliage continues to grow and process nutrients even when the ground is frozen. Many perennials and ornamental grasses look “shabby” by this time of winter, but resist the urge to trim them or remove ugly brown leaves. That ugly top growth is protecting the delicate new emerging leaves; even the toughest perennials like liriope can be severely damaged by sudden freezes if their “winter coat” is removed.
 
This month is one of the best for pruning and trimming deciduous trees and shrubs. With no leaves to hide problems, and branching structures plainly visible, gardeners have a great opportunity to make those “kindest cuts”. (The warmer days also make it a little nicer to be outside and climb the ladder!) If tree trimming is not your thing, call Greenleaf and let the pros do it for you.
 
Continue feeding and watering the birds and take time to look through those seed and plant catalogs that clog your mailbox this time of year. There are always new and interesting plant varieties to try in your yard, and mentioning those to your designer will bring even more excitement to the spring gardening season!

The longer days and warmer temperatures of March entice the gardener to venture out into yard and get his or her hands dirty. Long bouts of Kansas City cabin fever are slowly forgotten as the realization that “spring is coming” and we can actually see our landscapes. Now is the time to begin cleaning the planting beds of debris and trash, and to remove weeds that were missed last season along with new winter annual weeds that have cropped up. Large, unwieldy perennials that were left untrimmed to provide structure in the garden can be reduced or even pruned back to their new season height. Check any heavily mulched plants to ensure winter snows and ice haven’t compacted to the point of suffocation; in such cases, loosen mulch to add air but don’t remove yet. Some garden publications recommend pulling mulch away from perennial plants, and then replacing at night as temperatures warrant. We prefer to leave mulch in place until damaging temperatures abate; one exception to this would be if unusually high temperatures prevail (70’s-80’s) and mulched plants begin to grow and bleach out from a lack of sun. In those cases, mulch should be pulled back and then replaced as nighttime temperatures reach freezing.
 
Garden soils this time of year are somewhat susceptible to damage if care is not taken. If the winter months brought high levels of moisture through snow, rain, and ice, garden soils are likely saturated in March. Gardeners must resist the temptation to work in the soils until sun and wind can dry the areas out to a suitable extent. (Take a handful of soil, compress it lightly, and let it fall through your fingers. If it appears reasonably crumbly, it is fine to work; if it sticks together in a muddy mess, go back to reading garden journals for a while.) There are ways to help Mother Nature jump-start spring—call Greenleaf for help in getting your landscape ready!
 
March is a great month to plant cold hardy flowers and ornamentals; pansies, kale, and ornamental cabbage can go in now. Begin to identify perennials that should be divided just as new growth begins. Cool season turfgrasses can be mown short the latter half of this month in preparation for aeration and initial chemical applications. Make sure your tools are sharp and ready to go—the excitement of a new gardening season is upon us!

April is a busy month for gardeners. Regenerative plant growth is happening in earnest and this is the month to really get going! Spring bulbs are appearing, so take note of gaps in your landscape, and plan to fill those in when the fall season arrives. This is a good month to prune and shape evergreens; it is also a good time to prune deciduous shrubs and trees that may have been damaged in the winter. Early blooming shrubs like witchazel, forsythia, and quince can be pruned this month after flowering. Feed trees and shrubs now for strong growth and great blooms later in the season (we like Fertilome Tree and Shrub Food for ease of application and terrific results!) If plants in the landscape need to be moved, this is a great month to transplant trees and shrubs, and a good month to move and/or divide summer blooming perennials.
 
Groundcovers can be cut back now to remove unsightly foliage and to allow the sun to warm the interior of plants; hedge shears work well for this task, but for very vigorous groundcovers like liriope and euonymus coloratus, a mower raised to the highest settings can do a great job and save lots of time. Winter mulches can be removed from roses and fertilization and pruning can begin; using a rose fertilizer with systemic insecticide will help control pesky aphids and other insects—be sure to follow label directions. April is a great month to plant season sensitive trees that could not be transplanted in the fall. A few of our favorites prefer to be harvested in the spring if larger balled in burlap sizes are desired: Dogwood, Black Gum, Redbud and Whitebud, Magnolias, Birch, Ginkgo, and most Oaks have been “spring dug” by growers and are in the nurseries now. (Container grown plant materials can be planted anytime!) Now is the time to plant perennial fruit, nut, and berry plants; visit local nurseries to find great new varieties, or check mail order sources like Missouri’s own Stark Brothers—a gardening resource for decades.
 
If spring rains have been sparse, supplemental watering may be necessary, especially if strong, drying winds are prevalent. Most gardens need an inch of moisture per week this time of year; keeping track with a rain gauge is very helpful. Resist the urge to plant all but the cold hardiest annual flowers; geraniums, snapdragons, stocks, and many dianthus varieties (as well as pansies) handle cool temperatures well. Sensitive annuals like impatiens, coleus, begonias, and vinca can be planted next month (yes we like the old Mother’s day timing guide!) Happy gardening!!