Gardening Calendar

Spring

  • Prune crape myrtle and panicle hydrangeas while dormant to encourage new growth and strong branch development to support heavy blooms.
  • Remove mulch a week or two after the snow melts or after your final deep freeze.
  • Prune spring blooming trees and shrubs right after they finish flowering in spring. Examples include lilac, forsythia, magnolia, rhododendron, azalea, spirea, flowering crabapples, pearlbush (Exochorda) and serviceberry (Amelanchier).
  • Shape (also called selectively prune) summer blooming shrubs by removing up to one third of the oldest shoots all the way to the ground to improve vigor.
  • Remove any damaged, dead or diseased stems as soon as you start to see them. Also remove branches that may cross and rub against one another.
  • Do a little light shaping of broadleaf evergreen shrubs such as loropetalum and disylium. Generally these plants will not require much pruning.
TIP: Enjoy the first fragrance of the season from Snowdance™ Tree Lilac and Double Mint Gardenia.

Summer

  • Mulch your plants that require more water to keep moisture in the soil
  • Cut flowers for beautiful arrangements
  • Deadhead early Butterfly Bush blooms as they fade to encourage blooms through fall
  • Welcome the blooms and fragrance of your stunning summer garden.
Pick fruit from Sweet Cherry Pie™ tree to make delicious pies, jams and jellies.

Fall

  • Continue watering adequately until frost.
  • Pick fruit from Tawara Asian Pear for tasty treats!
  • Cut panicle hydrangeas, hypericum, bittersweet and coralberry for fall arrangements.
  • Cover the crown of your plants with wood chips, leaves, etc. for winter protection.
Revel in the multitude of fall colors from your favorite trees and shrubs.

Winter

  • Use Baton Rouge™ Dogwood, Wildfire™ Winterberry and dried hydrangea blooms for winter arrangements and holiday containers.
  • Enjoy the snowfall on First Editions® evergreens.
Now it’s time to plan your spring garden