Itching to work on your Colorado lawn or garden this spring? Here are tips to keep in mind
After what seemed like a long, cold winter, it feels like time to dig into those spring tree, lawn and garden chores.
Some of those tasks are best done now and some best done later.
Let's take a look at what to do to get the season off to a good start while saving money.
Why and when you should prune trees, roses and perennials
Prune damaged or dead branches or limbs rubbing against each other or those growing upright in the center of the tree.
If pruning a tree for shape, February and early March are best times.
Prune hardy shrub roses now, but wait until April to prune more tender roses, such as hybrids.
Prune ornamental grasses back to several inches or to any new green leaves.
All perennials can be pruned to near the ground.
Tips for proper tree trimming
It's best not to remove more than one-quarter of a tree's branches in a year, as that can affect its growth and health.
With newly planted trees, only prune dead, damaged or crossing limbs or those interfering with the main stem.
When pruning damaged limbs, avoid cutting into live tissue. Cut at the nearest point between dead (brown) and live (green) tissue.
Always prune just outside the branch collar, which is the raised or swollen area of the branch near where it meets the main trunk. It usually has wrinkled bark.
For larger branches, use a three-step pruning process: Make a small undercut on the branch to unweight it and prevent the bark from stripping into the tree when the branch falls. Cut just outside the undercut until the branch falls. Remove the stub branch by pruning the branch just outside the collar branch.
From the archives:These are the best new perennials for your Colorado garden, according to CSU researchers
Do these tasks at the right time and your grass will the envy of the neighborhood
Aeration/power raking
These tasks are best to do sooner rather than later in spring because waiting can cause damage to young grass roots.
Aeration helps reduce unwanted thatch buildup and the need to power rake.
Make sure your soil is adequately wet. The wetter the soil, the deeper the plugs you can pull, which is the goal.
You can allow the plugs to break up naturally, break them up using your lawn mower or rake them up.
You can rent an aerator for around $70 or more plus a tote trailer or pay a lawn care company $50 or more, depending on the size of your lawn.
You might need to power rake only if you have three-quarters to an inch of thatch layer. This is the brown, mostly dead grass between where the grass blade meets the roots.
If you aerated, look at the plugs to determine the width of the thatch layer.
If you need to power rake your lawn, do so as soon as possible because it is best to do when grass is dormant.
Instead of power raking, consider a light raking with a lawn rake. It's good exercise.
Lawn mowing 101
The only reason to mow now is if you wish to break up aeration plugs. Otherwise, hold off.
Make sure your lawnmower blade is sharp because dull blades tear grass, leaving the ends susceptible to drying out. Blades generally need sharpening every other year.
Bluegrass lawns in Colorado should be mowed to a height of 2½ inches in spring, then allowed to grow to 3 or 3½ inches as the weather warms. The longer grass length helps retain soil moisture.
Lawn fertilizing do's and don'ts
If you fertilized in late fall, wait until around Memorial Day to fertilize. If you didn’t fall fertilize, apply half the amount recommended. Water in fertilizer.
If you apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer in April, it causes grass blades to grow at the expense of stronger root growth. It's better to use a more balanced blend fertilizer early.
Other applications can be applied around Labor Day and again in October or November.
Warmer weather brings onset of weeds. Here's how to whack them
If you have crabgrass, apply a pre-emergent herbicide now before crabgrass seeds germinate, which typically is mid-April to mid-May. Pre-emergents are best applied at least two weeks before those dates.
If you pick your weeds instead of spray, make sure the soil is wet to allow for removing as much of the root as possible, or your efforts will largely be fruitless.
Pick or spray weeds as soon as they emerge.
If you spray, make sure to you know what products kill weeds in lawns and what products kill weeds wherever.
Limit the use of weed killers and spot spray as much as possible.
When to fire up your sprinkler system
It might be tempting to turn on your sprinkler system if we get warm days without moisture. It's best to wait until at least mid-April or longer if we receive rain or snow.
If you turn it on and we get a hard freeze, it could damage your above-ground system.
More tips:Click here for detailed instructions on how to turn on your sprinkler system when it's time
Here are average spring freeze dates and how those impact vegetable gardening
In Fort Collins, there is a 90% chance of seeing a hard freeze (28 degrees) on April 5 and a 50% chance on April 18.
You can plant some vegetables, such as onions, now. In a week or two — if you feel lucky — you can plant peas, radishes, carrots, lettuce and spinach.
Semi-hardy vegetables like beets, carrots, cauliflower, parsley, potatoes and Swiss chard can be planted two weeks before our average last spring frost.
Wait to plant tender vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin and watermelon until mid-May at the earliest.
Planning a garden? Here are 7 crops to grow as a first-time Fort Collins gardener
Lawn and garden resources
For more Colorado lawn and garden advice, visit extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/. For trees, visit cmg.extension.colostate.edu/gardening-resources/online-garden-publications/trees-and-shrubs/.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado lawn tips: When to prune trees, aerate, mow your lawn, more
