Jobs for Spring
Spring is on its way and time to get ready for our jobs for spring suggestions.
During the freezing temperatures in December, a lot of plants have suffered, due to minus degrees and snow on the foliage.
Don't give up hope on them just yet, even though they may look unsightly, we are sure that they will recover in Spring.
The majority of queries we have had are Olives and Ligustrum, and why they have suffered leaf drop during these extreme temperatures.
Although hardy to the UK climate some of these plants could not withstand their roots being frozen for over a week.
Should we get any more hard frosts it would be advisable to protect the roots and foliage.
Hopefully the snow has gone but if we do have any more this year, brush it off the foliage.
The weight of the snow can cause branches to splay or broken limbs and generally just spoil the shape of the tree.
Here are a few suggestions on 'winter pruning' and here is a link to the Gardeners world winter pruning guide
Wisteria - jobs for Spring
Wisteria should be pruned twice a year, January/February and then again in July/August after it has flowered.
This will improve the flowering display and keep the growth and size under control.
It is best to prune back before its growing season as this will promote lots more flowers for you, and will prevent the foliage from obscuring the blooms.
Deciduous
Grasses - jobs for Spring
should be cut back annually so that they will look their best for you in the summer.
Remove any dead grass from the evergreen grasses and tidy up to freshen their appearance before the new growth starts to show.
Buddleia - jobs for Spring
Buddleia should be cut back in early Spring.
Cut back the previous years flowering stems, also remove any thin weak or dead growth. This will give the maximum growing period for the young shoots.
Regularly dead head plants and sweep up fallen debris, to prevent disease spreading.
Check tree ties and stakes on established plants. Replace, tighten or slacken where the strong winter winds have caused 'windrock'.
This also applies to any newly planted trees which will need to be firmed back into the soil.
Remove any weeds from around the base of your trees.
Soil jobs for Spring (Don't forget the worms!)
It is important to improve the quality of soil as this helps give your plants all the nutrients necessary to establish themselves and grow.
If you do have doubts about the quality of the soil here are a few tips:
Sandy Soil:
In order to thicken the consistency of the soil, it is a good idea to dig in some well rotted manure.
If you do not have access to Manure then a good quality multi-purpose compost will also help.
We would suggest doing this in the Autumn/Winter months so your garden is ready for Spring.
High Acidic Soil:
If your soil has an Acidic level below 6 then you can dig through some lime.
This will help neutralise the area but it is worth checking the levels over a period of time.
- 0-5 - Acidic Soil
- 6-8 - Neutral - ideal planting
- 8-9 - Alkaline
- 9-14 - Highly Alkaline
Heavy Clay soil:
In order to breakdown the thick clay soil we would suggest digging through well-rotten manure.
If you do not have access to manure then a good quality multi-purpose compost will also help.
Adding a well-rotted manure or compost is a great winter job. This will help get the ground ready for Spring.
Contact Us
We hope you have found our article Jobs for Spring useful
If you do need any help or advice please contact us either by email or telephone.