Do n’t rent any soft Clarence Day go along by this month . There is plenty to do in the garden . Spring ephemerals are starting their show , and some of the earliest - blossom landscape painting plants are make themselves known . It ’s time to bug out stargaze of spring . Our southern wintertime will soon give way to warm days ; now is a great time to get a head jump .
Put up a native bird nesting box seat . Housing Eastern fairy bluebird or a colony of acrobatic purple martins can total play to the garden , and learning about the specific nesting boxes different dame favour can be an pleasurable experience . You may also want to regard scavenge out existing snuggle box early this month . Dirty ones can lead to problem later in the twelvemonth .
Clean up honest-to-god hellebore foliation . Hellebores ( Helleborus orientalis , Zones 4–8 ) will be up and flowering presently if they are not already . clear up moth-eaten - looking leafage now to verify it does n’t distract from this class ’s bloom . to boot , if you see any larger seedling starting to bloom that are especially nice , you may wish to mark them now and move them soon after their blooming time has ended . Often seedling hellebores get smothered by their parent works if not transplant .
conserve grasses . Cut back liriopes ( Liriopespp . and cvs . , Zones 4–11 ) sometime this month , being heedful not to cut too far into the summit . Often as wintertime hint down , tip burn becomes unsightly . Use a rake or a leaf cetacean to polish off clippings from the area .
Prune for structure . This is a neat month to do geomorphological pruning of trees . The goal of morphologic pruning is most often to aid tree form one main leader and one main bole . This can encounter with precise reduction cuts or through the strategic removal of limb . check that you educate yourself on this practice or consult an internationally demonstrate arborist for helper . Always quash the arbitrary topping of trees ; this soften their overall structure .
force play branches of early bloomers . other bounce - blooming shrubs can be wedge to bloom indoors this time of year . This can be done by cut stems as buds set out to well up . bounce - flowering quince ( Cydonia oblonga , zone 5–8 ) , fruit trees , and forsythia ( Forsythiaspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) are all good choices . Place them where they will invite some sun . Arrange them in a vase with water supply and enjoy !
Take aid of your lawn . Take some cue from the weather this month . When you see dandelion starting to go to the blow - ball seeding stage for the first time , that means the soil is starting to warm . It is also your sign to forbid finger grass and other seasonal weeds from germinating . This can be done through the use of conventional methods such as a preemergence herbicide , or through organic methods . Knowing what type of lawn you have is important . dissimilar Mary Jane types transport with them different recommendations , which should be investigated before proceeding .
— Andy Pulte is a faculty member in the flora sciences department at the University of Tennessee .
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Josef Lemper hellebore (Helleborus niger’HGC Josef Lemper', Zones 3–8) is a very early blooming variety of hellebore that should be in bloom soon.Photo: Andy Pulte
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Purple martins are colonial nesters and need a house with at least four to six nesting cavities.Photo: Andy Pulte
Dead foliage from previous bloom cycles of hellebores that hasn’t been removed will distract from current flowering displays.Photo: Steve Aitken
Golden lily turf (Liriope muscari‘Peedee Ingot’, Zones 6–10), like other liriopes, tends to get tip burn this time of year. Now is an ideal time to trim it back to above its crown.Photo: Andy Pulte
Strategic cuts can ensure more structural integrity in your tree.Photo: Jennifer Benner
Don’t wait until spring to see the cheery yellow blooms of forsythia; force some branches indoors.Photo: Michelle Gervais
Dandelions forming seed heads indicates the slow return of warming temperatures; this is your signal to get a handle on lawn weeds.Photo: maxpixel.net
