It’s time to roll up sleeves and bring out the tools. Spring gardening is a busy time. Here are some items to check off lists as gardens and landscapes are prepared for the summer.
Prune.
• The season for pruning red and live oaks has passed. Wait until this summer to finish any pruning of oaks that was not completed in February. Other landscape trees can be pruned now.
• Wait to prune summer -lowering shrubs until after flowering. Spring-flowering shrubs like quince, forsythia and spirea can be shaped after the last bloom. Leave them to grow for the remainder of the season to provide ample fruiting wood for next spring.
• By now it is clear which shrubs and trees were killed in the great freeze of 2021. It is time to remove them and replace.
• Carefully inspect large trees. Cut back dead or diseased branches. Look for limbs that are hanging over rooftops, cutting them back to the origin. Falling limbs can cause heavy damage.
Plant.
• Take note that we still have several weeks before our average last spring freeze.
• Shrubs and trees can be safely installed now.
• Annuals and perennials can be placed in the ground now. If there is a freeze alert, cover with two layers of newspaper, large pots, or freeze cloth.
• Wait to plant lawn turf until later in May.
• Seeds of warm season crops can be planted in the garden, but with the same warning to be prepared to cover them with freeze cloth if temperatures drop to freezing.
• Cool-season crops can still be transplanted but they will need protection from high temperatures. Plant in partial shade to reduce water loss.
Tools.
• Lawn mowers have been quiet for months. Check blades are sharp and evenly balanced to avoid jagged and lopsided paths following the mower.
• Make sure shovels are clean; sharpen edges if dull.
• Sharpen pruners.
• Check watering cans. Small cracks in seams, sides and bottoms can be patched with caulking.
Rake leaf debris from lawns edges, house foundations, eliminating hiding spots for insects and rodents.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
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