Get your flower beds in great shape

If you are running late getting your garden cleaned up because of bad spring weather to date, it is still OK to continue removing garden debris from beds and cutting back perennials. The perennials will have begun growing so be very careful when cutting them back and removing debris to avoid damaging new shoots. Cut perennials back higher above ground to help avoid damaging new growth.

• Many garden beds have irregular edges. Beds will look better and be easier to mow along if they have smooth, flowing curves. Use a pliable garden hose or rope to lay out your new bed line. All clumps of grass should be removed from the bed and any clods of soil should be broken up and spread around. Any clumps of grass left in a bed are likely to start growing and become difficult weeds to eradicate later in the year. Avoid creating the “volcano effect” around trees, which is caused by piling soil and mulch up around the trunk.

• Apply fertilizer to garden beds if needed. Most gardens in the Chicago region have soils with adequate levels of phosphorus so choose a fertilizer with little or no phosphorus. The higher the percentage of nitrogen in the fertilizer you purchase, the less you need to apply to your garden, so follow instructions on the bag or ask a salesperson for advice. Have your soil tested if you want to know for sure what the best fertilizer would be for your garden. Use soil from a few locations to mix together for a good composite sample. If your garden is large, then break up your property into sections and send in multiple samples.

• There is a fair amount of winter burn on evergreens this spring. It is time to prune off sections that are completely dead to allow the plants to fill back in. Cut them back to live wood with green leaves and then make a decision as to whether you want to keep the plant or not, depending on its appearance. Evergreens tend to be slow to fill back in. Beds of pachysandra also seem to have been damaged over winter and should fill back in once weather begins warming up.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.