First False Spring Thaw:
Tasks Now for Big Spring Impacts
The Chinook winds arrived last night. It was 64 degrees at 10 o’clock and 57 at 6AM today. Banks of drifted snow disappeared over night. The snow eater of February arrived. If you have lived along the Front Range of Colorado for any length of time, you know we get the false spring from the snow eater winds at least once a winter, in January or February. It has arrived.
Walked around and picked up broken branches that fell from the 100-year-old Maples…a regular task at the farm. Got a chance to see how perennials and shrubs are managing from the cold snap and snows. So far, all looks good. Reminded of a few tasks that could be done while the weather is reasonable before the next blast arrives on the weekend.
Lots of Coneflower have been smashed, though some seed heads remain upright for birds. Might consider cutting those back to 2-3” to clean up that mess. Other perennials, Shasta Daisy, Penstemon, Avens, and Sea Holly could all use a cut back. Ornamental grasses are mostly upright since there has not been significant heavy and deep snowfall, just a lot of drifting from the last blast, so some were flattened. Those could get cut back to 2-6” depending on sizes…the larger ones can be cut back to 6” and the small ones back to 2-3”. Want to get all the excess dead material out so new growth can come in without leaving matted wet dead material to mold. Remember to leave the smaller tuft grasses alone (Fescue, Blue Avena, Atlas Grass, etc.). They don’t need pruning. Just pull at the dead grass blades and see what comes out. More dead will release from those later in spring when new growth pushes the old out.
Lastly, light structural pruning could happen if time permits on some shrubs. It is easier to do now without new foliage in the way, and better for the plant health to prune in winter months. Get those branches that cross each other and rub together in the wind dealt with. That’s where diseases start. Some cleanup around the base of shrubs to pull dead leaves out is a great task, and while you are there, prune the lowest branches out from the bottom to keep air flow at a maximum. But you don’t have to pull it all out yet. It is ok to leave some leaves and dead material around all plants…we might just get to -15 again in February and those leaves will protect the roots and base of the plants from extremes. It happens. Winds will likely blow more leaves around the bases of plants anyway, so don’t get too carried away with cleanup or you’ll just have to do it again. So, get out and enjoy the thaw, don’t water yet, but do spend some time on a bit of clean up. Take it easy, it doesn’t all have to happen at once.
Contact Dave to learn about a free consultation and estimate for your local Longmont, Colorado area landscape projects. Follow us on Pinterest or Facebook to see our featured landscaping project photos
Get inspired on Pinterest
View our projects on Facebook
You must be logged in to post a comment.