March is notoriously unpredictable in Gainesville. It can be rainy and chilly the first couple days of the week and then warm and sunny for the weekend. Still, some spring cleanup tasks are almost imminent this time of year to have an appealing Gainesville lawn. Below are 3 things you can do this week to improve the look and health of your landscape for the growing season.
1. Prune away frost damaged branches and prune for healthy growth.
Where tree or shrub branches have been damaged by frost, prune them back to live stems. When they need a little shaping for healthy growth, this is the perfect time, as well. Use a pair of Hand pruners for a clean cut on Camelias, Knockout Roses, Crape Myrtles, Firespike, and Azaleas. For growth larger than ½” in diameter, use a hand saw.
Prune summer-flowering shrubs, such as Rose of Sharon and Hydrangeas, before buds swell, but wait to prune spring bloomers, like Azaleas, till they’re finished flowering.
2. Clean Up Around Plants.
Rake out fallen leaves and dead foliage (which can smother plants and foster disease), pull up spent annuals, and toss in a wheelbarrow with other organic yard waste to use for compost. Now is also a good time to spread a pelletized food (granular fertilizer) for your plants and lawn on the soil's surface so that spring rains can carry it to the roots.
To add definition to your beds, use a shovel to give beds a clean edge and keep grass runners from growing into them. You can also dig a small trough (2-3” deep) at the edge of the beds to keep your new mulch from spilling out into the lawn.
3. Neaten Up Hardscape Surfaces.
Rake spilled gravel back into aggregate walkways and patios, and order more gravel to spread in large depressions. Refill joints between flagstones by sweeping in new sand or stone dust; water with a hose to set it, then repeat. You can use a pressure washer with a low pressure tip to remove slippery algae spots or leaf stains from Gainesville landscape patios and walkways as well and leave them looking good as new.