Some tidying up and preventive tips for spring
I see many gardens with beds that have irregular edges. Your beds will look better and be easier to mow along if they have smooth, flowing curves. Use a pliable garden hose or rope to lay out your new bed line.
Remove clumps of grass from the bed and break up any clods of soil and spread them around. If you leave clumps of grass in a bed, they may start growing and become difficult weeds to eradicate later in the year.
Do not pile soil and mulch up around the trunks of trees. This creates a “volcano effect” around trees that can be harmful.
Check water coverage
When turning on your irrigation system for the first time this year, run and observe each zone to ensure uniform coverage. Sprinkler heads can become plugged or rotate improperly, leaving dry areas. There can also be winter damage from frozen sprinkler heads or those broken by snowplows. Soft, excessively wet spots in the lawn can indicate a leak in the system. If you have made any changes in bed sizes since last season, you may need to move sprinkler heads.
Aerating your lawn
Spring is a great time to improve the health of your lawn by core aerating. I prefer this routine maintenance practice over power raking and have never power raked my lawn at home. Leave the plugs on the lawn as they usually break down quickly.
Core aerating improves lawn health by reducing compaction and increasing aeration for the lawn’s root system. This enables water and nutrients to penetrate to the roots more easily. It also creates an opportunity to overseed your lawn. Be sure to choose a shade-tolerant grass mix if your lawn is shady. Lawns growing in heavy shade typically need to be reseeded every spring.
Spray away apple scab
Spray crabapple trees that are susceptible to apple scab to ensure healthy trees (this disease affects older varieties of crabapple). Apple scab spreads rapidly at temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If your tree’s leaves are covered with black spots and fall off in late summer, the tree needs a protective spray program. Ideally, replace these trees with a new, disease-resistant cultivar.
If you wish to protect your trees, begin spraying after the buds open and treat once every seven to 10 days until the leaves are fully open. Three treatments are usually enough. The sprays may not be completely effective in years with extended periods of damp or rainy weather that favor this disease.
Call the Garden’s Plant Information Service at (847) 835-0972 for recommended fungicides and timing for applications. Some people choose to avoid preventive sprays and accept that some years have more disease issues.
• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.