4 of the Most Helpful Spring Landscaping Tips

4 of the Most Helpful Spring Landscaping Tips

As a company that’s been in the landscaping industry for over 10 years and helped more than 5,000 homeowners improve and decorate their properties, we’ve seen what works and what mistakes people tend to make over and over again.

It turns out, one of the keys to landscaping is timing and as we in Wisconsin are finally putting the hail and cold temperatures behind us, now is the time to get things done. So, here are 4 of our most helpful landscaping tips to save yourself some time, money, and a lot of frustration.

The Pre-Emergent Window

One of the most important parts of landscaping is taking preventative measures, especially against every landscaper and gardener’s worst enemy, WEEDS.

To do this, we need to apply a pre-emergent right at the start of spring, before weeds have even started to grow. Pre-emergent works by creating a barrier in the soil that stops seeds from germinating.

However, timing is VERY important here. If your lawn is green, growing, and you’ve already mowed it once or twice, it’s usually too late. At that point, many weed seeds have already germinated, and pre-emergent won’t be able to stop them.

To get the full benefit of your pre-emergent you need to apply it at just the right time. Too early is better than too late, however the product can break down and become less effective later on when you may need it the most.

Keep in mind, though, that pre-emergent does not discriminate.

If you recently seeded your lawn or plan to do so, applying pre-emergent in that area will prevent both your weeds AND grass seed from growing in that area. Having some weeds in your grass is probably better than having no grass at all.

When used correctly, though, pre-emergent is a powerful tool in any landscaper’s arsenal. A small amount of setup now can save you from hours upon hours of weeding later.

Spring Cleanup Isn’t Optional

A lot of people think of spring cleanup as purely cosmetic. It’s seen as something needlessly tedious that you’ll get around to if you have time.

However, just like pre-emergent does for weeds, spring cleanup can prevent some serious problems from happening down the road.

Here are two of the biggest issues:

Patio and Hardscape Staining

Leaves sitting on patios, walkways, or driveways will get wet and begin to decompose. A process that will leave behind dark stains.

These stains are tough and can be surprisingly difficult to get out. Usually, the only way to fully remove them is through pressure washing, which takes time, money, and can cause some unnecessary wear on your surfaces.

Just doing a quick cleanup in early spring with a broom or a blower can prevent a LOT of headache down the line.

Landscape Bed Breakdown

This is a problem that’s more serious, especially if you have stone beds with landscape fabric underneath.

Landscape fabric is designed as a barrier between the soil and whatever sits on top, which is typically stone or mulch. This prevents weeds from growing past it, up into the soil.

However, when leaves are left sitting on top they collect in the bed, break down, and turn into soil, which builds up on top of the fabric.

Now, instead of a clean-looking separation between your soil and stone, you’ve created a stone sandwich, with soil above and below it.

Once that happens, weeds don’t need to fight their way through your landscape fabric anymore, they just grow right on top. At this point, you’ve undone the entire purpose for having the fabric in the first place.

And once this has happened, it isn’t an easy fix. It often involves removing the stone and rebuilding the bed. If you think that sounds expensive, you’d often be correct.

Luckily, all of that can be avoided through early spring cleanup by making sure that leaves don’t find themselves piling up in your stone beds.

Set Yourself Up For Success

Spring is a time when you can make or break the results of your landscaping for the remainder of the year. What you do now will directly affect how your plants will grow and look over the course of the rest of the season.

Here are a few key areas to focus on:

Clearing Out Dead Plant Material

Hostas, daylilies and other perennials die back each year, leaving behind dead foliage.

Leaving the dead material alone can create a messy appearance and can become difficult to remove without damaging the new growth.

If you are attempting to remove dead foliage from a plant with new, green shoots coming in, it’s possible you could pull out some of that healthy material as well. Better to do this cleanup early to keep everything looking clean while protecting the health of your plants.

Prune at the Right Time

Late winter to early spring, when plants are still dormant, is often the best time for pruning many types of shrubs and bushes.

At this stage, these plants haven’t fully committed energy to new growth, allowing you to shape them more effectively and reduce the risk of cutting off any new, developing buds.

Waiting too long for pruning and unintentionally cutting off those buds can reduce flowering for the rest of the season, depending on the plant.

Once again, timing is very important here, and getting ahead of it will give you better results.

Plan Seeding Strategically

If you’re thinking about seeding your lawn, spring is a great opportunity, but you have a window of time that is most effective.

Early spring (March and early April) is usually too cold for optimal germination. Mid spring (late April into May) is when soil temperatures will be most favorable and rainfall more consistent, conditions that are ideal for supporting steady growth.

One of the biggest advantages of spring seeding is that you often don’t need to water as aggressively as you would in the summer. Natural rainfall does a lot of the work for you.

That being said, grass seed requires consistent moisture to grow properly. If rain isn’t coming as often as you’d hoped, you may still need to do some watering.

Reach Out to Professional Landscapers Earlier Than You Think

This is an often overlooked aspect of landscaping that can significantly impact your experience.

Most homeowners wait for the weather to warm up and start to feel like spring before even beginning to think about landscaping projects.

The problem is, that’s exactly when everyone else does too.

As soon as the grass starts growing, landscaping companies like us get flooded with phone calls. Our schedules fill up quickly and more optimal times may have already been taken by more proactive homeowners.

If you reach out during the early spring rush, you’ll likely find yourself waiting longer for consultations, having your design process delayed, and getting pushed further out on the installation schedule.

What could have been a spring project can easily turn into a mid-summer one.

However, if you choose to be one of those proactive homeowners and call earlier, like late winter, you gain a major advantage.

During that time our schedules are far more flexible, there’s more time for thoughtful planning, and you’re more likely to secure an earlier installation date.

Even if you aren’t completely certain what you want yet, giving your local landscape company a call to start that discussion will help you out in the long run, giving you room to explore options without the added stress of being rushed.

Landscaping is a highly seasonal practice. Timing your planning phase correctly can make the entire process smoother from start to finish.

Final Thoughts

A well-maintained landscape doesn’t need to be overly time-consuming and difficult. Those are just things that can happen if you time your landscaping poorly.

Put in a little effort now, and you’ll spend a lot less time fixing problems later, and a lot more time actually enjoying your yard.