Spring is just around the corner, and garden expert P. Allen Smith has teamed up with STIHL, a leading manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, to give you timely advice on pruning, planting and tool care to ensure that your garden gets the treatment it deserves.
More tips & information on the best products for each job can be found at
www.pallensmith.com and
www.stihlusa.com .
Spring Pruning
- A good rule of thumb is to always consult a professional arborist for any large tree jobs and all aboveground work.
- When you can safely prune branches yourself, make sure you have the right tools. STIHL makes a variety of pole pruners and chain saws to handle any tough pruning tasks, as well as hand pruners for smaller jobs. Visit www.stihlusa.com and use the product selector to help you find the best equipment for any job.
- Before deciduous trees break buds and leaves emerge, prune broken and damaged limbs.
- Prune the tree to maintain a balanced and natural silhouette. Avoid leaving stubs. Trim branches back nearly flush with the limb or trunk.
- Prune lilac and forsythia bushes after they bloom. To rejuvenate overgrown or less vigorous varieties of these bushes, remove branches at ground level.
- Shape up evergreens before new growth comes out. Do not top a pyramidal-shaped evergreen. Side branches may develop, but often will not regenerate the central leading branch.
- When trimming an evergreen hedge, prune the sides on a slight bevel, so the bottom branches stick out a little further than the top. This prevents the top from shading the lower branches making them sparse and leggy.
Tool Tips
- Get ready for spring tasks now. Take an inventory of your gardening tools, equipment and materials and make sure you have what you need, and check the condition of each tool for needed maintenance or repair.
- Always be sure to read, understand and follow directions in the instruction manual for maintenance and operation of any outdoor power equipment you use.
- Visit your STIHL servicing dealer to make sure your tools are properly maintained and ready to tackle your spring projects.
- Spray paint or wrap handles of garden tools with bright fluorescent bands of color, so you can find them easily in the garden.
- A fanny pack or belt holster is ideal for keeping small tools like hand pruners ready when you need them.
- Consider using an environmentally responsible engine oil with your power tools, such as STIHL HP Ultra, which is fully synthetic and biodegradable by 80% in 21 days.
- And for your chain saws, try a bar and chain oil like STIHL BioPlus™, which is rated by the Coordinating European Council to be 93.8% biodegradable in only 21 days.
- Carry a plastic 5-gallon bucket to hold tools, seeds, even your phone while you're out in the garden. Turn it upside down for a sturdy seat.
Spring Cleaning
- Rake and blow leaves that may have matted or accumulated on the lawn or in the garden over the winter. Be careful to avoid damaging plants emerging from the ground.
- Add grass clippings and leaves to the compost pile but place diseased plant material or branches in the trash.
- Soil test your flowerbeds, garden and lawn, and add soil amendments as needed. Check with your local county cooperative extension service, or buy soil testing kits at the garden center.
- A top dressing of compost or sterilized manure can benefit perennials and roses. Avoid applying on plant crowns. For an extra boost, add three to four tablespoons of triple, super phosphate around perennials to help them develop lots of beautiful flowers.
- Prepare cages and staking materials for hollyhocks, peonies, tomatoes, sweet peas and other plants that require support.
- Consider a multi-task tool, such as the STIHL KombiSystem, which has multiple attachments such as a blower, extended hedge trimmer, lawn edger, mini-cultivator and trimmer. A multi-task tool makes it easy to tackle numerous tasks without having to store a lot of bulky equipment.
- When cutting back tall ornamental grasses, wrap the clumps together with masking tape above the cutting height, then cut with hedge shears. This makes for easy disposal and eliminates raking.
- Test the shape of a new flower bed by mowing the outline in your lawn.
Pest Prevention
- Spray dormant oil, available at garden centers, on deciduous trees and shrubs to eliminate insect eggs and larva that lie waiting for the warmth and sunlight to become active. Follow label instructions.
- After all chance of frost has past, plant tomatoes in the garden and wrap the base of each seedling with a piece of aluminum foil to discourage cutworms from chewing through the stem.
- Eliminate aphids, spider mites or mealy bugs with this homemade remedy. Combine one (1) tablespoon dishwashing liquid with one (1) cup vegetable oil. Then dilute one (1) tablespoon of this concentrate in one (1)1 cup of water and spray onto infected plants.
Green up the Grass
- Spring is the time to fertilize your lawn after mowing and when the grass is dry. If wet, the fertilizer will stick to the blades and burn the lawn.
- Use a spreader to ensure equal distribution of the fertilizer across the lawn. Load the spreader on a sidewalk or a driveway just in case you spill some.
- For even distribution without dark streaks from over fertilized areas, set the gauge on the fertilizer spreader at a low setting and go over the area several times making sure that each pass of the spreader overlaps the last.
- Check lawn watering systems, or lay out soaker hoses attached to water timers.
- Deep soak your lawn rather than lightly water. This encourages deeply rooted grass that can hold up to dry spells.
- Put down pre-emergent weed control. They are often more effective when applied separately than distributed as a blend with fertilizers.
About P. Allen Smith
Smith is the author of the best-selling Garden Home book series and is considered one of the foremost gardening and outdoor living experts in the country. In addition to his own nationally-syndicated television series on commercial networks, P. Allen Smith Gardens, he also hosts P. Allen Smith's Garden Home on public television and is a frequent guest on the TODAY Show and The Weather Channel. Smith has received several national awards for creating special opportunities to educate and inspire the American public about the joys of gardening.
About STIHL Inc.
STIHL Inc. manufactures the world's largest selling brand of chain saws and produces a full line of powerful, lightweight, and versatile handheld outdoor power equipment for homeowners and professional users. STIHL products are sold through servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast- not mass merchants. STIHL products sold through U.S. STIHL dealers are for distribution in the U.S. only. For more information or for the name of the closest STIHL retailer call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit the STIHL Web site at www.stihlusa.com. STIHL is the official outdoor power equipment sponsor of both P. Allen Smith Gardens and P. Allen Smith's Garden Home.
