Spring Plant Care: What You Need to Know

Clean-up:

Please get with your landscaper to ensure leaves are removed around your plants to prevent the spread of disease. March is the time to prune shrubs to remove dead, diseased, or malformed branches. With temperatures warming, your landscaper may apply the recommended one-inch layer of compost around all plants and cover it with a thin layer of mulch for maximum benefits. Pre-emergent herbicides greatly improve weed control.

Irrigation:

In the Spring, it is best to practice minimal irrigation. Closely monitor rainfall and the dry/wet areas of your property. Water only when the soil has dried completely one inch below the surface. This holds true for turf as well—less water will encourage roots to grow deeper, decreasing water requirements during the hottest part of the year.

Winter Damage: 

You may notice discoloration, poor growth/blooms, and even dead branches on some of your plants. Freezing temperatures can cause excessive transpiration (water loss) leading to desiccation and dieback. Plants impacted by Winter Damage will have weakened defenses against environmental stresses, pests, and may cause areas to fail unexpectedly throughout the year. Our programs are designed to improve the overall health of your plants and strengthen them to better overcome extreme weather. We do offer supplementary treatments, which we can add to your program, that will further help to improve overall health and defense. Feel free to email office@arborcarede.com to discuss any additional treatment options.

Black Spot Disease:

Black Spot is a fungal disease that affects plants in the rose family. The fungus develops as black spots on the leaves, which eventually causes the leaves to turn yellow and drop off. Black spot thrives during cool, moist weather. In addition, fungus can cause cankers on the stems to reproduce which infect newly forming leaves. Besides looking unsightly, it can weaken the rose plant. Fungicides can be applied every 7-14 days after the leaves emerge in the spring until dormancy in the fall. Through our plant care program, fungicide is generally applied with summer treatments. We do offer more aggressive supplementary treatments, which we can add to your program, that will further help to improve overall health and defense. Feel free to reach out to the office, office@arborcarede.com, to discuss any additional treatment options.