Spring Garden Cleanup Tips

Spring is officially here! In many parts of Colorado, the weather certainly matches the exciting mood of the season. Although it’s incredibly tempting to start cutting back perennials and tidying up mulch beds, it may not be time to dust off your gardening gloves just yet.

Trust us – we understand the eagerness to get outside! But before you get your hands dirty, read our tips and advice from the experts at the Xerces Society on why it’s beneficial to hold off on spring garden cleanup for a little longer than you may think.

1. Wait for consistent warm weather before doing your spring cleaning so you don’t disturb pollinator habitat.

The first warm, sunny day of the year can easily make us want to get out in our gardens and clean up all of last season’s dead growth. But these first nice days of the year don’t mean that warm weather is here to stay. Until we have consistent warm weather (including night time temps), pollinators will prefer to stay hunkered down in the leaves and dead plant matter of last year to protect them from the inevitable late-season last frost and freezing temps. Check out this article from the Xerces Society on their cues for when it’s okay to start your spring gardening.

If you have a large garden area, it may be unrealistic to wait until mid-May to complete all of your spring cleanup. We recommend leaving some areas untouched by a rake or pruners to allow these important pollinators to continue their slumber until they’re safe to wake up.

2. Take a look at your Garden Info Sheet to see which plants could use some attention in spring.

In general, it’s good practice to leave your plants standing for the winter and then cut back to their new growth come spring. If you want to divide your plants to contain spreading or to propagate, spring is also a great time to do so. Look at our blog written by Miss Jean on division and propagation for more info!

It’s also important to note that when it’s time to clean up old growth from last year, there’s a chance (depending on the plants) that you won’t see a lot of new growth on your perennials just yet. So don’t fret if you’re wondering why there’s not a lot of green in your landscape! Like may of us first thing in the morning, perennials may take a little while to wake up in early spring.

3. Lightly rake beds around perennials to move around/dry out wet leaves and other dense materials that can smother plants.

4. Be sure to continue hand watering until it’s warm enough to turn your sprinklers on.

April is still too early to turn your sprinkler system on as Colorado will likely have below-freezing nights (sometimes through early May), so it’s important to make sure your plants are receiving enough water right now. Water your plants when the temps outside are above 40 degrees, we’ve had a few dry days in a row, and there isn’t any snow covering your beds. Now’s a great time to sign up for our Slow the Flow sprinkler evaluation — summer appointments start in June in participating areas.

5. As you walk around your garden beds, take the time to weed.

After snow melts, the ground is often very soft making it easier than usual to pull weeds. Pulling weeds a little at a time early in the season is a great way to mitigate being overwhelmed with weeds in the summer.