Red wheelbarrow filled with mulch next to a shovel on a grassy area Red wheelbarrow filled with mulch next to a shovel on a grassy area Red wheelbarrow filled with mulch next to a shovel on a grassy area
Red wheelbarrow filled with mulch next to a shovel on a grassy area

Summer Garden Prep in Late Spring: 5 Tasks You'll Thank Yourself For

heidi grasman |  april 22, 2026

Here's the thing about spring garden maintenance: the work you do in April and May quietly determines how good your garden looks in July. It's easy to skip the prep and dive straight into planting — we get it, the seed catalogs are calling — but a little time spent on these five tasks now pays dividends all season long. Think of late spring as your garden's launchpad. Get these things right, and your summer will be full of blooms, happy plants, and a lot less troubleshooting. 

Task 1: Clean Up Winter's Leftovers Before New Growth Takes Off 

Spring garden prep starts on the ground — literally. Before anything else, walk your beds and take stock of what winter left behind. Dead stems, brown foliage, and fallen leaves that you left for wildlife habitat over winter (good for you!) can now be removed to make way for new growth and improve airflow around emerging plants.

 

A few things to look for during your spring cleanup:

Cut back ornamental grasses to within a few inches of the ground before new growth emerges from the center. If you wait until shoots are already several inches tall, you risk damaging them with your shears. For perennials, remove dead stems and foliage that didn't get cut back last fall — most of it will pull away easily by hand as the plant pushes up fresh growth below.

 

Check for winter heaving, too. This is what happens when repeated freeze-thaw cycles literally push shallow-rooted plants — especially newly planted perennials — partially out of the ground. If you see a plant sitting higher than it should be with exposed roots, gently press it back down and firm the soil around it. Catching this early prevents the roots from drying out and the plant from struggling all season.

 

Finally, rake out any matted leaves from between plants. A thick layer of wet, decomposing leaves sitting against plant crowns can encourage rot and disease. Get that bed breathing again, and you're off to a clean start. 

Task 2: Master Spring Pruning — Know What to Cut and What to Leave Alone 

Pruning tips matter most in spring because one wrong cut at the wrong time can cost you an entire season of blooms. The golden rule is simple: know whether your plant blooms on old wood or new wood before you pick up the pruners.

 

Prune now (spring) for plants that bloom on new wood. These plants set their flower buds on growth they produce this season, so pruning them in early spring before new growth kicks in actually encourages more blooms. Butterfly bushes, smooth hydrangeas (like the Invincibelle® series), panicle hydrangeas, and most roses all fall into this camp. Cut them back by about one-third to one-half in early spring just as the buds are beginning to swell. You'll get stronger stems and a better flower show.

 

Wait until after bloom for plants that bloom on old wood. This is where gardeners get into trouble. If your lilac, forsythia, bigleaf hydrangea, or spring-blooming azalea flowered on last year's stems, pruning it now means cutting off this year's buds. The rule of thumb: if it bloomed before June, wait until right after flowering to do any trimming.

 

A few more spring pruning tips worth keeping in mind: always use clean, sharp tools to make smooth cuts that heal quickly. Remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches first — these come out regardless of timing. And for overgrown shrubs, resist the urge to cut everything at once. Removing more than one-third of a shrub's total growth in a single season stresses the plant. Spread heavy rejuvenation pruning over two to three years instead. 

Task 3: Feed Your Plants Before the Season Hits Full Stride

Spring is prime time for fertilizing, and getting nutrients to your plants' roots before summer heat arrives makes a genuine difference in bloom quality and overall plant health. The key is matching the right fertilizer to the right plant — not all plants want the same thing.

 

For general perennials, trees, and shrubs, Espoma® Organic Plant-Tone® is your all-in-one spring workhorse. This slow-release, all-natural granular fertilizer is enhanced with Bio-Tone® microbes, living organisms that colonize plant roots and help them absorb nutrients more efficiently. Sprinkle it around the drip line (the outer edge of the plant's canopy) and water it in. One spring application sets your perennials and shrubs up for months of steady, consistent feeding.

For annuals and flowering perennials you're feeding at planting time, Espoma® Organic Flower-Tone® is the right call. Mix it into the planting hole or work it into the top inch of soil around established plants. Its formulation is higher in the nutrients that drive flower production specifically — so you get more blooms, not just more leaves.

 

Planting something new this spring? Don't skip Espoma® Organic Bio-Tone® Starter Plus. This starter fertilizer contains both endo and ecto mycorrhizae, two types of beneficial fungi that attach to new root systems and dramatically speed up establishment. Plants treated with Bio-Tone® at planting develop stronger, deeper roots and bounce back from transplant shock much faster. Mix it right into the planting hole when you put any new perennial, shrub, or tree in the ground.

 

One important fertilizing tip that often gets overlooked: timing the end of feeding matters just as much as the beginning. Stop fertilizing woody shrubs and perennials by midsummer. Feeding late in the season pushes tender new growth that won't have time to harden off before fall, leaving plants more vulnerable to winter damage. 

Task 4: Set Up Support Structures Before Plants Need Them 

Here's the spring garden maintenance task most gardeners wish they'd done sooner: staking. Installing support structures for tall or floppy plants is dramatically easier — and far less damaging to the plants — when you do it before the stems are fully extended. Once a peony has flopped over under its own weight after a rainstorm, or a delphinium has snapped in the wind, you can't un-flop it.

 

In late April and early May, mark where your tall plants are emerging and get supports in place while there's still room to work around them. For peonies and other mounding perennials, round wire grow-through hoops work beautifully — the plant simply grows up through the grid and hides the support completely by the time it blooms. For tall vertical plants like delphiniums, foxgloves, or tall salvias, a bamboo stake and a loose figure-eight tie gives each stem its own anchor without constricting growth.

 

A few other staking tips: always stake loosely, leaving room for the stem to move naturally. A stem tied too tightly against a stake can snap more easily than one with a bit of give. Natural materials like jute twine blend into the garden and break down harmlessly at the end of the season. And if a plant consistently needs staking every year, it's worth evaluating whether it's getting enough sun — most floppy perennials are reaching for more light than they're getting. 

Task 5: Refresh Your Mulch for a Summer-Ready Garden 

Mulching might not feel as exciting as planting, but it's one of the highest-return spring garden prep tasks you can do. A fresh 2–3 inch layer of mulch across your beds does four important things at once: it retains soil moisture (meaning less watering for you), moderates soil temperature as summer heats up, suppresses weeds before they get a foothold, and slowly improves soil structure as it breaks down.

 

Spring is the ideal time to mulch because you're doing it ahead of the heat — not playing catch-up after the soil has already dried out. Pull any winter-weary mulch aside, then lay down a fresh layer. Shredded hardwood bark and shredded leaves are both excellent options. Just be sure to keep mulch an inch or two away from plant stems and crown — mulch piled directly against stems traps moisture and creates ideal conditions for rot and disease.

 

Think of mulch as your summer insurance policy. The few hours you spend spreading it in May will save you hours of weeding and watering from June through September. Your future self will appreciate it. 

You've Got This — Now Get Outside 

Late spring garden maintenance isn't glamorous work, but it's genuinely where great summer gardens are made. A clean-up pass through the beds, thoughtful pruning decisions, the right fertilizer matched to the right plant, supports placed before they're desperately needed, and fresh mulch locking in all that spring moisture — these five tasks together add up to a garden that's set up to thrive, not just survive, through summer.

 

Pick one task per weekend in April and May, and by the time your first big blooms open up, you'll be ready to sit back and enjoy them. 

About the Author: Heidi Grasman is the co-owner of Garden Crossings and has spent over 30 years getting her hands dirty developing a deep, practical knowledge of plants, garden design, and what actually works in the ground. She travels throughout the year visiting trial gardens and attending industry conferences to stay on the cutting edge of new plant introductions, and has been a featured speaker at Proven Winners events including the Grand Garden Show on Mackinac Island. A teacher at heart, Heidi's greatest reward is hearing from customers who've found their green thumb after following her advice.

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