The snow is melting and your trees are wondering if it's time for spring to finally be here. Hopefully, they hold out on blooming for a month or two more to keep a late frost from killing all of their tiny delicate buds.
Once it begins to warm up you'll either want to hire a professional, like ifyardbutler.com, to come and do some spring cleaning or you'll need to get out into the yard yourself. If you like to do your own maintenance then you will want to make sure you take care of these 5 important things.
Damage
The first thing you'll want to do is carefully inspect your trees for any damage that may have occurred during the winter. Maybe a couple of branches broke during an ice storm a few months back. If that's the case you need to carefully remove the branches so they don't get in the way of new growth on your tree or weigh down young branches.
Clear Base
After a long cold winter of weathering the elements, there is probably some debris at the base of your trees. Remove the loose sticks, leaves, and trash that may have collected there. You also want to pull out any plants that might be invading your trees' personal space. These might be bushes, grass, weeds, or ivy. This is also the perfect time to increase the size of your trees' drip line if it shrunk during the winter months.
Mulch/Fertilizer
Now that your tree is free from weeds and debris it is time to give it a proper layer of fertilizer and then some mulch. When putting mulch down around your tree make sure you don't bury your tree's trunk. You'll want to lay the mulch out a few inches from the trunk and then extend about 1 to 2 feet in all directions forming a circle around your tree.
There are two main reasons why you should put mulch down around your tree. For starters, it is a wonderful way to help conserve moisture in the soil. It also helps to keep pesky weeds away from the base of your tree.
Insects
The wonderful thing about spring is that everything finally comes back to life again. Unfortunately, this includes insects and plant diseases. As you care for your trees make sure to keep a close eye out for any signs of decay in the wood or nasty bugs that might be hurting your plant.
Deep Water
If you are having an especially dry spring in your area, then you'll want to make sure to deeply water your trees. Since they are working so hard to grow new plant life they need extra nutrients to fill the demands of their growing leaves and branches. Don't water every single day or you'll drown the poor things, but when you water, give them lots so it can seep down deep into the ground and provide nutrients to the roots.
Just keep in mind that after a long, hard winter your trees need care just as much as your snow-beat grass. Good luck with your spring yard work and enjoy the warm weather.
