The days are longer, the sun is warmer, and sooner or later the buds of trees and shrubs will begin to grow. Best to complete pruning in the winter anyway communicated suddenly his grip. Remove dead, diseased and rubbing branches, and make any clarifications necessary to open a canopy to more air and sun. Cut broken branches back to a main branch or trunk rather than leaving the heels. Wound sealant is generally not necessary. Wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs until right after flowering. Wait to prune maples and birches until they leaf out, if not their sap will run or “bleed” open wounds.

Before new shoots appear, cut the stems of last year to ornamental grasses. Hand pruners will work for small plants, but the electric hedge trimmers make quick work of large specimens with a dense growth. If possible, cut the stems before adding them to the compost pile or use them as mulch so they decompose faster.

Cut the grass stand as feathers reed, switchgrass, miscanthus grass and heath. Do not cut back too far, only 15 to 24 inches above the soil surface, or you could cut some of the growth points this season is buried in the stems. Only cut flower stems from ancient mound of grass like grass and blue oat blue fescue, leaving their mounds of foliage. Remove all old leaves, loose and brown. Each year some blue fescue should be dug up and replanted as they tend to increase over time and get bare essentials.

Take a walk around your yard to check for perennials that can be pushed out of the ground, exposing roots to drying winds. Tamp them gently into the soil or if the ground is too frozen, surround with mulch for protection, compacting later.

When the temperature rises to 50 degrees in early spring and the wind is low, move indoor plants with scale or scales on the outside to a shady spot and complete coverage of foliage with light oil or was. Then move the plants inside. A strong flow of water, repeated weekly, if necessary, may be all that is necessary to remove scales. Check the areas where the leaves join stems for the masses of fluffy white scales. Check the underside of leaves to brown scales, or small step to crawl in color.

Cabbage, broccoli, cabbage and others who may be laid in early spring everyone can be started this month. Sow the slow-growing flowers such as thoughts, begonias, and the beginning of Vinca. Sow verbena, petunias, geraniums, impatiens and later in the month. But wait until April to sow the seeds of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and most varieties of flowers that can not be transplanted until the danger of frost has passed. Check the seed packet to see if the seeds can be started indoors, or should be sown directly into the soil when the weather warms.

Other tips for this month include provisions for your gardening supplies, visit a maple sugar shack, or by typing your own maple trees, and taking your mower tune-ups.