5 Early Spring KnowHow™ Tips

Spring is about to pop, is your garden ready? From creating a color story to giving your garden a fresh cut, let us take the guesswork out of gardening with five simple Spring gardening tips.

>>Start your Spring planning now

1. Plan Your Color Story

Plan now for summer- and fall-flowering annuals and perennials. Look garden gorgeous effortlessly! With One-Step Style™ combos you can easily express your style with combos that reflect your favorite colors & textures — whether you like tone on tone or bold contrast, plants add visual oomph to your space. Instant curb appeal for your home… done & done! If you really want to impress, extend the look through your entire garden with our easy color groups and companion plants. Eye-catching, superbloomers include petunias, dahlias, geraniums, coneflowers, daisies and pentas.

2. Don’t Be Shy: Give Your Garden a Fresh Cut Before Spring!

Early Spring is an ideal time to cut back many plants. It’s a much easier task right now than once new growth appears. Finish pruning summer-flowering plants that form blooms on new growth, this includes butterfly bush and panicle hydrangeas. Really trim up your Standup™ Ornamental Grasses—cutting foliage back to about 5-10” inches above the soil depending on variety. Don’t go overboard, though! Wait to prune spring-blooming shrubs like Always Azaleas™ until just after they’ve finished flowering. New flower buds for next Spring's bloom are set by mid Summer, so any pruning after that may decrease your garden’s flower power for next year. Same goes for summer-blooming mophead hydrangeas. They bloom in early Summer on old wood, so prune them after flowering.

3. Plants Need Vitamins, Too…

Broadcasting a slow-release fertilizer is the best choice to support the nutritional needs of your garden all season long. Be sure not to over-fertilize, though. Too much plant food may cause leggy plants halfway through the season.

4. Awaken Your Sleeping Beauties.

Give your roses some much-needed love by removing any fallen leaves from last season and providing a fresh layer of mulch around your flowerbed. Keep your sun-loving Simply Diva Roses™ looking amazing all season long without a lot of fuss, but be sure to wear gloves when styling these beauties… divas can get prickly when provoked.

5. Divide & Conquer!

Are your perennials taking over your turf? Early Spring is one of the best times to divide most perennials. Keep your Essential Perennials™ performing well by digging them out of the ground and splitting them into smaller chunks every three or four years.

>>Quick Tip: Dividing perennials can be tough on them, so to make the transition as smooth as possible and give them a good soaking the day before you intend to divide and have their new home (hole) prepped before you begin.