Your Colorado Yard Checklist

Colorado is looking so beautiful right now with the multitude of flowering plants, deep green lawns, and budding trees. It makes you want to be outside all the time even for someone like me with pollen allergies. With high temps in March, a dry streak and then snow, the weather can be confusing to the plants, however. Some are starting to bloom and will be in danger if we have a freeze or heavy wet snow.

If you are looking to keep your yard in good shape then you might want to check out the website, Plant Something Colorado. They have some recommendations for Colorado safe plants. They also have a helpful month by month guide on keeping your yard and garden groomed and healthy.

Here are some ideas to get you jumpstarted:

• If the weather is warm and dry, water shrubs and trees.
• Should the forecast include freezing temperatures, protect plants with fabric, burlap, laundry baskets, boxes – just don’t let anything touch the new leaves or the cold transmits the cold directly into the plant. 
• Plant Something Colorado recommends fertilizing trees, shrubs, and flower beds while dormant.
• Clean out beds, pull up old mulch.
• Trim ornamental grasses and perennials once new growth is showing.
• Core-aerate your lawn now, and if needed, fertilize with a nitrogen mixture, while the weather is cool. Control weeds now, too – Horticultural vinegar (ask at your local garden center) is good for spot treating.
• As soon as your lawn is 3.5”, begin mowing – try not to remove more than 1/3 of the blade (2.5” – 3” height) to keep your lawn healthy. It will usually grow at a faster rate in April and May. It’s a good time to overseed areas or bare spots that need it while the temperatures are still cool.
• If you’re a pet owner, check fences for areas that need repair to keep your yard dog-friendly and safe.
• Colorado’s one of the few places where lawns can suffer from snow mold if there are long periods of snow cover, and then damaged by clover mites. Inspect your lawn for both.
• Test your sprinkler system, timer, etc. Sharpen lawn mower blades and tune up your garden tools; your maintenance now will go a long way for the summer months.
• For those of you with a balcony v.s. a yard, you’ll want to remove old soil from your garden pots, mix in fertilizer and seed any herbs or vegetables you’re growing in pots.