Tasks:
- Deadhead, lightly prune, and feed alfala meal to the hydrangeas.
- Add support systems to the Annabelle Hydrangeas.
- Shear the old fronds from the Western Sword Ferns and select other ferns.
- Plant lettuce starts.
- Relocate shrubs and plants, as needed.
- Apply alfala meal to all flowering shrubs including camellias, rhododendrons, pieris, and azaleas.
- Rake in top soil and reseed bare patches on the lawns. (Going Au Naturel in 2010.)
- Remove die-back branches from the Japanese Maples and assess the overall tree shape and structure to determine if pruning is needed.
Notes:
Although the weather can be very unpredictable; Spring sunshine one minute, hail showers the next, I have many tasks I want to accomplish this month.
If I have to relocate a large tree or shrub, and can’t wait until the Fall, I try to get it done this month so the root system has a few months to recover before the Summer drought hits.
I spend a few hours on my hydrangea collection (29 in total) removing spent flowers and dead stalks and giving them a light feed of alfalfa meal. I prefer to let the flowerheads dry and overwinter on the plants for Winter interest and because the Robins seem to like the dried flowers. If I leave the dead-heading
exercise until after new growth emerges, I’m less likely to cut away this year’s flower buds.
My obsessive side reemerges each March when I feel the need to remove the old fronds from our Western Sword Ferns. They don’t really need to be removed; I just don’t like when they start yellowing and dying off in the Summer. It’s way easier to remove the old ones before the new ones emerge.
And then there is the very pleasurable task of becoming reacquainted with my Japanese Maple collection. I like to “visit” with each tree (28 and counting??) to check for broken branches from Winter storms and squirrel damage. I remove any branches which have died back and then correct any “skeletal” issues which are harder to see and fix when the tree is in full leaf.
