Plan, plan, plan – check out books, go online, tour a garden nursery, take a class (see our Phelan Gardens spring class selection), ask questions.  

• Seed vegetables and flowers indoors for transplanting outdoors when weather permits
• Start bulbs, such as begonias, cannas, caladiums, and dahlias indoors for a head start on the season
• Spring clean your garden, especially under Aspen trees
• Plant cool crops, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, pansies and violas, in mid-April
• Plant caladiums, tuberous begonias, cannas, dahlias and callas in March
• Seed carrots, peas and lettuce outside in early April for an early harvest—follow up with successive seedings throughout the season
• Move or divide perennials before they really get going—prepare soil well with peat moss and compost before replanting—plant crown at the same depth that it was previously planted
• Apply weed preventer about mid-March to stop weeds from germinating in garden beds and lawn
• Fertilize strawberry beds with low nitrogen fertilizer to encourage fruit rather than foliage
• Remove residual dead foliage from perennials—dead leaves and stems can be kept in the garden or added to the compost pile
• If perennial shows no new foliage by May 15^th, dig in the soil to find a solid viable root—if there is no such thing, consider it gone and start looking for a replacement

Trees and Shrubs

• Move shrubs and trees while still dormant by digging up as much of the root system as possible to prevent excessive shock
• Make a final application of Scalecide to Aspen, Lilacs, Ash and fruit trees before they leaf out
• Apply Florel Fruit Eliminator while trees are in full bloom to eliminate crabapple and Russian Olive trees from producing fruit
• Trim off dead or broken branches that have no leaves or signs of future life
• Since most lawn fertilizers are high in nitrogen, something all evergreen trees and shrubs love, remove some from the spreader just for them
• For leaf spot on Aspen and Poplar trees, apply fungicide at bud break and 2 – 3 times during the growing stage at 12 – 14 day intervals
• Roses should be fertilized around the beginning of May, middle of June and end of July

 Lawn Care

• Lightly rake the lawn to clean out dead leaves and trash that has blown into the yard—clean out the garden at the same time
• Core aerate lawn before the first application of fertilizer
• Apply the first application of slow-release fertilizer around Easter

General Maintenance

• Check over garden tools to make sure they are ready for the season—now is the time to buy new if they have seen better days
• Start the lawn mower to make sure it is working properly—sharpening the blade and a tune up might be in order, but do this early to avoid the rush
• Clean up containers to be used this year—empty soil into flower beds
• Secure trellises before the vines become too active
• Water areas that have been excessively dry during the winter—water more often as local restrictions permit during dry periods when the weather begins to warm up, especially any tree, shrubs and perennials first planted last season
• Once again the flea market is in full swing—look to add cheap garden novelties to your landscape

For any questions you have on this article, or any topic of concern, email us—or better yet, come by and talk to one of our professional staff members.  Remember, Phelan Gardens is open year-round!   

For additional information, check the following links: 

• Chart of Annual Flowers for Fall and Spring Color
• Starting seeds indoors
• Types of Perennials
• Perennials how & when to plant
• How to Plant Trees and Shrubs
• Now Is the Time of Year to Prune
• Spring Tree Care
• It's March and Time to Dig in the Garden
• Selecting plants
• Fertilizing lawns in spring & summer
• Grass clippings
• Lawn aeration