Five-minute tree jobs
ONCE the garden starts to warm up, young trees will surge back into growth. Make sure you tie back new shoots to prevent them being damaged by high winds, and to stop them causing damage if they are whipped around by gales.
Climbers and rambling roses will also be taking off now, so make sure you also tie them in to whatever supports they have in place. As well as keeping them in their allotted space, this lets you train them in the desired shape and direction.
Growing trees and shrubs need feeding as they come back into growth. Give them a balanced fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone or Growmore now, especially if they are young, weaklooking or were recently hard pruned. This should give them several months of nutrition.
It also pays to pile a layer of mulch around the root areas of plants to help the soil hold on to moisture as the weather potentially gets drier in late spring and summer.
Don’t let any mulch touch the trunks of trees and shrubs as it can dampen and soften the bark, leaving it prone to rotting and cankers.
Check that tree ties are securely fastened and not too tight because this can cause them to bite into the bark, constricting the flow of sap and creating an entry point for pests and disease.
They should be tied in a figure-ofeight, to act as a buffer between the tree and its supporting stake, and should be tight enough to support but loose enough to allow some movement.