As the days grow longer in Southeast Wisconsin, it’s time to give your yard some well-deserved attention. Preparing your lawn, trees, shrubs, and flower beds now will set the stage for a vibrant and healthy growing season. Here’s what you should be focusing on in the coming weeks.

Flower Power: Prepping Your Garden Beds

• Uncover & Breathe: Remove any boughs or coverings from your perennial beds to allow plants the light and air they need to thrive.
• Divide & Conquer: Once perennials like hostas, grasses, and daylilies show signs of growth, divide and transplant them as needed.
• Instant Spring: Bring color to your yard with container plantings of cold-tolerant blooms like pansies, snapdragons, violas, and ivy.
• Frost Watch: Be patient with tender plants—wait until after Mother’s Day to plant them to avoid late-season frosts.
• Cool Crops: Cold-hardy vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, radishes, and carrots can be planted now—they thrive in early spring temperatures.
• Feed & Protect: Apply compost or mulch to perennial beds before plants get too big and fertilize with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer. Now is also the time for your first application of pre-emergent herbicide to keep weeds at bay.

Lush Lawns: Get a Head Start on Green Grass

• First Cut: Once your lawn reaches about 4 inches, mow it down to 3 inches, never removing more than one-third of the height at a time.
• Seed & Sod: When soil temperatures rise at the end of the month, start planting grass seed or laying sod—just don’t forget to water regularly!
• Weed Control: Apply pre-emergent crabgrass preventer now, and begin treating actively growing broadleaf weeds as soon as you spot them.
• Core Aeration: If your lawn needs a boost, aeration reduces thatch, improves soil porosity, and strengthens root systems—especially important for those avoiding chemical treatments.

Tree & Shrub TLC: Helping Your Landscape Wake Up

• Ditch the Winter Wraps: Remove any winter protection from trees, shrubs, and roses to prevent overheating and damage.
• Plant with Care: New trees and shrubs can be planted now, as long as they are in a similar growth stage as local vegetation. Bare-root trees are a great option this time of year.
• Hydration Matters: Even if there are no visible leaves, newly planted trees and shrubs still need water to establish their root systems.
• Prune Wisely: Remove any winter-damaged branches, but hold off on pruning spring-blooming plants like lilacs and forsythia until after they bloom.
• Feed & Mulch: A slow-release fertilizer, along with a layer of compost and mulch, will provide essential nutrients and moisture retention—just be sure not to pile mulch against tree trunks.
• Protect Crabapples: If you spray for disease or insects, start now—but avoid spraying while the tree is blooming.

Spring is the perfect time to set the foundation for a thriving yard. By tackling these essential landscaping tasks now, you’ll enjoy a lush lawn, stunning flowers, and healthy trees and shrubs all season long. As always, our team stands ready to help you give your landscape the care and attention it needs to thrive during the growing season.