Is your irrigation system working?  Now is the time to check for winter damage and prepare for daily use.  Remember, waiting until it looks like things need water may be too late to save delicate plants and/your lawn.  Setting up your system to water with less frequency and deeper watering will ultimately save your plants making them healthier by producing deeper root systems but will also help conserve water.  Contact Back 2 Green for your irrigation needs.

Now that the ground has warmed-up, determine if you need to top-dress your beds with bark mulch. The mulch application should be 2-4" thick in exposed areas in and around shrubs and trees. Be careful not to pile larger amounts of mulch against tree trunks and shrub stems, which can lead to root rot. 

In perennial areas, mulch should be 1-2" in depth. Do not over apply in perennial areas, as root rot will increase. Some perennials, which like it hot and dry such as Autumn Joy sedum and Dutch Irises, should have almost none.

One cubic yard of mulch covers roughly 100ft by 2ft at 1-2" in depth.  If you wish to have an application of mulch applied, it must be prepaid, after which, scheduling will be within the week. Remember--1 Cubic yard is about the volume of the inside bed of a small pick-up truck.

Fertilize trees and shrubs as needed. While fertilizing is not always needed, sometimes we want to encourage more growth or increase health. An application of a slow release fertilizer, such as 15-5-10 is best for slow sustained growth. Please contact us if you have any questions on applications, times and amounts.  Or give us a call for your next application scheduling.

Apply granular sulphur around acid soil-requiring plants now. Plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, hollies and vernal witch hazel benefit from having sulphur sprinkled around their root zone. Apply granular or powdered lime to your lawn as well as plants which do not like acidic soils resulting from the abundance of pine needles. Spring moisture works with the sulphur to acidify the soil and the Lime to neutralize it. Sulphur  and lime both should be reapplied annually for optimal growth and health of the areas treated. Contact us today for any of your vegitative amendments.

If you wish to keep your mugo pine small or dwarf in habit, don't miss the only time to prune it. As the new growth emerges, it is referred to as the "candle stage". This refers to the new terminal growth before the needles fully expand. Simply snap-off a portion of the new "candle" with your fingers before it fully expands. Do not snap-off the entire candle, since that is the only growing point of the pine. Only 2/3's of the candle should be removed. Candle pinching keeps the pine smaller and promotes lateral bud formation, resulting in a denser plant next year.

Inspect plants for early signs of insect damage, weeds and diseases as this is the time to call us for applications of insecticidal soaps on trees, bushes and even lawn to retard the spread of undesired insects and diseases. Except for frost tolerant annuals, such as pansies, delay planting annuals until we are frost-free later in May.  Lilac blooms may be cut and brought into the home. Using scissor-type hand pruners cut off a portion of the woody stem below the flowers. Bring inside and use a hammer to slightly smash the end of the stem to help it better take up water in a vase.

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