Spring cleanup necessary now; give plants time to grow

Finish cutting back perennials and cleaning up garden debris this month. It is best to cut back perennials before they start growing to minimize any possible damage to the new growth.

The rainy weather has delayed work in the garden this year. Be careful of any bulbs that have started growing. Avoid or minimize walking on ground that is wet. The soil will generally take longer to dry out during the cooler spring temperatures than it does in the summer.

It can be hard to see new growth on ornamental grasses, so be sure to cut them back before consistent warm weather sets in. If the weather warms up and the grasses are growing, cut them to a few inches above the ground to avoid new shoots.

• It is time to uncover hybrid roses by carefully removing mulch from the base. A bamboo stake works well for this task. Leave a small amount of mulch at the base for protection in case of a late hard freeze.

Monitor the weather forecast and adjust your timing as needed if any extended cold periods are predicted. Prune these roses back to live growth, which in some years may leave only 1 to 2 inches of stem.

• Some evergreens may be showing winter burn now as the weather is warming up. Some plants may be completely dead or beyond saving while others will grow out this year.

Yews tend to be resilient. Look for new buds starting to grow - this will be a good sign that your evergreen will recover. If most of the stems are dead and no new growth is starting, you may have lost the plant.

Give the plants more time this early in spring, and perhaps the plant will be OK. The extent of the damage and how long you are willing to wait for the plant to recover are factors in your decision about whether to remove it. Prune out any brown sections once you can be sure the stems are dead.

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