Parks, Recreation & Leisure

Parks, Recreation & Leisure / Parks & Forestry

Landscaping Tips

The Early Spring Landscape
Aside from the official calendar date marking the arrival of spring, landscape plants are beginning to come to life. A familiar old saying claims the vibrant yellow blooms of Forsythia is the first sign that spring has arrived. While this may be the most common and obvious sign that spring has undeniably arrived, there are many other plants that come to life well before that.

The 2005 Perennial Plant of the Year Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Rose), has been in bloom for weeks. Spring bulbs have emerged and Crocus are showing their colors. Hamamelis mollis (Chinese Witchhazel) came into bloom a couple weeks ago and Fothergilla sp. will soon burst with their white bottlebrush blooms. If you have taken a drive, you may have noticed our wooded areas and forests have an overall red cast. The tiny red blooms of Red Maple have burst open and are soon to be followed by the yellowish red blooms of Silver Maple.

Within the next few weeks, most perennials hiding beneath the soil surface will emerge and begin to take shape. Hopefully, your landscapes were cleaned up and most of your perennials cut back last fall. However, there will still be leaves, a few weeds and perennials left for winter interest that await a healthy spring haircut. It is time to cut most ornamental grasses to the ground, with the exception of species like Fescue, and Carex, which prefer a hand thinning. Certain species of both perennials and woody plants should not be cut back until new buds have emerged.

Most of the following species are rather late to emerge, so don’t be over anxious. Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage) is a summer blooming woody perennial that will emerge on last year’s old stems, usually lower in the plant and should be cut back to this point of new growth on each stem. The same is true for shrubs like Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) and Caryopteris (Bluebeard) – summer blooming shrubs that emerge so late from their old stems that many mistakenly think they are dead.

Early spring is also the time to uncover hybrid Tea Roses, prune out the dead canes, and cut back brown stems to the nearest green bud.

Unfortunately as a society, we all seem to love the look of fresh mulch. As a result, the purpose of mulch and its benefits are starting to get lost in an obsession to be the first to have a freshly mulched landscape in the spring. As early as last week, I witnessed several commercial landscapers applying, even “blowing” (the new craze), a fresh coating of mulch.

Aside from aesthetics, there is little reason to mulch at this time of year. Mulch is an insulator, a weed retardant, and keeps soil moisture and temperature more stable. Applied now, when we have an abundance of soil moisture can slow the soil’s natural warming process, and hold excess moisture that can contribute to disease or decay. The best time to mulch is mid to late spring, when many weeds can be suffocated and moisture retention is desired for the summer months. Another ideal time to mulch is late fall. Fall mulching helps protect plants over the winter and helps eliminate plant heaving that occurs during freezing and thawing periods. One-to-two-inches of mulch per application is sufficient, and should never be stacked year after year and allowed to build up.

Enjoy the more subtle signs that spring is here and start your landscape off this year on the right foot with proper maintenance practices.

Parks & Forestry Division
Parks & Recreation Department
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5340