Don’t be too quick to tidy up your garden
Many daffodils have put on their show for the season and tulips will follow in a few weeks. As the blooms fade, the garden gets a bit messy and many gardeners feel the urge to clean up.
Normally, I tell you to clear out dead and dying leaves and plant debris, but there is a qualifier when it comes to spring bulbs.
It’s fine to cut back the flower stems but keep the shears off the leaves. Don’t rubber band them into tidy bundles or braid into attractive weaves. Let the greens alone to grow and store food for next year’s blooms.
If you cut or tie the green leaves, the plants can’t properly photosynthesize, or at all. It may look messy but until those greens die back and yellow or brown, let them be.
The best solution is to grow another plant, one that emerges later in the season, to shield the bulb greens from view. Daylilies are often useful and grow well in a bed of daffodils. They tend to emerge just as the daffodils start looking straggly.
Other plants recommended for interplanting include hosta, amsonia, heuchera, and peonies. Select a late-emerging perennial that suits the site and has ample foliage to camouflage the dying spring bulb greens.
Mowing the lawn: Things to remember
Mowing properly takes a bit of planning, some equipment maintenance, and patience.
Maintain equipment:
Service your mower before storing it at the end of the season. Use fresh gas or fully charged battery, clean underside of the mowing deck, and repair any damage.
Keep the blade sharp.
Dull blades rip the grass leaving ragged edges, stressing the grass and making it more prone to diseases and insects. The mowing height may need adjusting if it is newly established, has gotten out of hand, or shows signs of scalping.
Mowing should remove only a third of the height of the grass at any time. Cutting off more than that will seriously stress the grass plants. Longer grass will shade the soil and keep it cooler and encourage the
roots to grow deeper.
A caveat to that principle, according to the Scotts Co., is that some specific grasses need specific cuts:
“Of course, there’s an exception here to prove the rule: While most grass types respond best to having the mower set to the one of the highest settings, zoysia grass and centipedegrass prefer a middle mower setting, and even pickier grass and creeping bentgrass thrive on the lowest mower settings.”
Mow a dry lawn: The ideal time to mow a lawn is in the early evening on a dry day. The lawn is dry, temperatures are cooler and the grass will have hours to recover before the sun rises. The grass is moist with dew in the early
morning. Mowing in the midday heat will add stress to the lawn. A wet lawn often has an uneven cut. The clipped grass clumps and clogs the mower.
Change the direction of mowing: Altering your mowing pattern will avoid creating ruts and encourage the grass to stand up instead of leaning over from being cut in the same direction.
Mow when the grass needs it:
Never mow on a schedule, the grass will grow because of the weather, the nature of your particular grass, and the time of the year. It doesn’t care what day of the week it is, or when you last cut it. Wait until there is sufficient growth to really need cutting, Newly seeded or sodded lawns require special attention. Again, according to Scott Lawncare, newly sown lawns should be cut when the grass reaches:
Bahia: 2-2.5 inches
Bermuda: 1.5-2 inches
Bluegrass: 2-2.5 inches Centipede: 1.5-2 inches Fescue: 2-3 inches
Perennial ryegrass: 2-3 inches
Zoysia: 1-2 inches
Freshly sodded lawns should be allowed to settle in and reestablish roots. Wait about three weeks before mowing and allow the grass to grow a little long.
As long as the clippings are small and not clumped up, allow the grass clippings to remain on the lawn, break down and return the nutrients to the soil. If you do rake or suck up your clippings, try not to add them to the garbage. The dump doesn’t need the nutrients. Untreated lawn clippings can be added to the compost pile but take care not to add chemically treated clippings into compost used for food crops.
A good reference for all phases of lawn care is the Penn State Extension article, Lawn Management Through the Seasons.