With spring right around the corner, it’s a good idea to start thinking about your landscape again. Trust me, it’s not too early. The warm weather will be here before you know it!
To help you decide where to start, I made a video where I talk about the yard care tasks to complete during the month of March for your Colorado landscape.
In the video, I talk in detail about winter watering, spring cleanup, pruning shrubs and applying weed preventer. I also talk about why it’s too early to turn on your sprinkler system and fertilize your lawn.
Winter Watering
Speaking of warm weather, guess what? Colorado’s Front Range, like much of the country, had record-breaking warm weather in February. Couple that with the amazingly tiny seven 1/100ths of an inch of precipitation and we have warm, dry conditions. If you remember back to last fall, it was also warm and dry. I am sure you are noticing a theme here.
Warm conditions cause plants to start growing. Dry conditions cause their new roots to stop forming. That’s bad, but especially bad for trees that can’t stay dormant like other plants can. Our lawns, trees and landscape plants need water desperately.
If nothing else, make sure to get some water on your lawn and landscape plants, but especially your trees. It’s REALLY important right now, even if you have to pay someone else to do it for you. It will make the difference between having a healthy, thriving landscape and one that struggles for a while.
Spring Cleanup
March is also the time to finish cutting back your ornamental grasses and perennial flowers. If you have a lot of grasses to cut down and have to prioritize what to do first, I posted a free schedule of when to cut back ornamental grasses in Colorado. I hope it helps you cut them back at the right time!
Pruning
March is a great month for pruning shrubs. You can easily see the branches so you know what to cut.
When you prune, don’t hedge your shrubs. Rather, prune individual branches using smart thinning cuts. In this video, I explain the difference between thinning and heading cuts, and how you might use them to accomplish your pruning goals.
Weed Preventer
If you had a lot of annual weeds in your rock mulch or decorative gravel last year, it might help to apply a weed preventer to those areas. Check out this article to learn more.
In conclusion, try to find some time to take care of those tasks in your landscape during the month of March. April will be here very soon, when I’ll talk about spring lawn care secrets to help you grow a thick, green lawn.
Great reminders, Catherine. Your grass trimming guide is a keeper. Love how you’re putting your monthly reminders on YouTube; I think that medium is very effective for this kind of thing!
Hi Luke, thanks so much for your encouragement. Your comments are always a bright spot. Glad you like the ornamental grass schedule!
Thank you so much for this. I just moved to Colorado and I had no clue what to do for my yard, but I really wanted to try getting into lawn care on my own. Your site and articles like this are going to be invaluable to me this year.
Hi Kristi, glad you found the site. I hope you learn a lot and have great success with your yard!
I love this site and your advice is terrific! We have a new lawn (Kentucky bluegrass blend) which was planted last July. We did well with it, following your guides. We fertilized twice before winter and kept up with winter watering, including for our four new trees. Any additional advice for a new lawn which is emerging from it’s first winter — even though our winter here has been very warm? Thank you!
Hi Tami, so glad to hear the information has helped. It sounds like you’ve been attentive and consistent, which will pay off. I’d continue to water consistently since it’s been so warm and dry. I’d get it aerated this spring and fertilize around Mothers Day since you fertilized in the fall. Consistent water will be the most critical factor. Let me know how it goes this summer!
Thanks so much! We will report back on our progress.