You don’t need me to tell you it’s been a weird winter. It’s been both dry and unseasonably warm. That’s concerning.
Shrubs, perennials and trees
To help your garden cope, water shrubs, perennials and recently planted trees. Some plants have started to leaf out. This isn’t ideal, but most trees and shrubs have secondary leaf buds in reserve just in case the first ones get frozen. Spring-blooming trees and shrubs don’t have reserve flower buds. We’ll just have to see what happens.
Don’t water the lawn
Don’t worry about your lawn. It’s dormant. Don’t water it.
Dry turf at this moment is actually detrimental to the Japanese beetle grubs feeding on the grass roots.
Gardening indoors
Spring-like weather is frustrating to gardeners who’d like to plant something. Channel that energy into your indoor activities. You can still take cuttings of plants you brought inside last fall, such as geraniums, sweet potato vine or Mizou ice plant. Use a rooting hormone brushed on the lower stems to help them take root.
If you successfully rooted cuttings in fall, those can be bumped up to bigger pots to accommodate the roots. Pinch out growth tips to encourage them to bush out. They’ll be ready to plant outside in May.
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