“Now is the perfect time to be fertilising and feeding your garden,” says John Arnott, , Manager of Horticulture, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. “Warmer and longer days promote active plant growth making Spring the ultimate time to get out in your garden.”
To make sure your garden reaches its full potential and looks beautiful all season long, follow Arnott’s top Spring tips below:
1. Prune after plants have flowered: Pruning during Spring promotes vigorous growth and bushy plants. The rule of thumb when it comes to pruning is that you should only do it after your plants have finished flowering. A number of plants flower during Winter, so Spring is time to focus on them. Leave your Spring bloomers alone until they’ve finished flowering.
2. Rejuvenate your hedges: Spring is the time to shape up and bring your hedges to life using a STIHL hedge trimmer. Regular trimming will give you a nice dense hedge, so this should be done as often as required. Trimming off the tips will allow sunlight and airflow deep down into the hedge and encourage new lush growth the whole way through. It’s also important to pick the right trimmer to suit yourself and your hedges.
3. Mulch to retain moisture: Mulching greatly assists with retaining moisture levels in your soil, particularly leading into Summer when rainfall becomes sparse. Shredding garden waste with a STIHL Garden Shredder will help the process of creating mulch and compost and will take you half the time. Not only is this a great way to produce a dense, nutrient rich mulch or topsoil, it’s also an easy and cheap way to dispose of your garden waste.
4. Bring your lawn back to life: As the weather warms up, mowing should be done on a weekly basis. Weekly mowing encourages the lawn to grow sideways, producing a nice thick and uniform lawn. If the grass is not mowed regularly and allowed to get too long, there will be a lack of sunlight hitting the lower parts of the grass blades, resulting in yellow patches.
If your lawn needs a bit of love after a long, frosty winter, aerating your lawn and removing the thatch will allow rainfall and sunlight deep down into the roots, promoting new, lush growth. The STIHL MultiSystem has two attachments capable of doing these tasks with very little effort from the user.
5. Brush weeds away: Just as garden trees and shrubs put on a flush of growth in Spring, the same applies to garden weeds which also grow quickly at this time of year. Staying on top of weeds can be a bit of a challenge, however giving them a regular tidy with your grass trimmer and your brushcutter will ensure they don’t grow into an even bigger problem.
6. Plant! Plant! Plant! Spring is a great time to be planting as you are able to take advantage of moist soils, increased sunlight, and warmer temperatures, all of which facilitate the establishment of new plants. Planting now will ensure that plants have healthy active roots, and become settled in their new homes well ahead of the typically drier months. If you are adding a large number of plants to your garden, a STIHL Auger will take the backbreaking effort out of creating new holes and take you half the time.
7. Tree management: As the weather gets warmer, tree management involves inspecting and observing changes - especially during dry, hot spells where extra watering may be required.
Tree inspections are an important part of risk management and are carried out on a regular basis, particularly after strong winds and storms. These are the times we use STIHL chainsaws for any clean-up work required and removing any damaged branches.
Arnott also places emphasises on the importance of using the correct tools for the task. He says: "It is very important that our team are equipped with industry leading power tools fit for purpose across a diverse team. It is also our mission to safeguard plants for the benefit of people and the planet; environmentally friendly tools align well with that value. This is why the team at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria use STIHL tools."
STIHL Marketing Director, Joanne Katsos says, “High quality, ergonomically designed equipment will enable you to get the job done faster and with ease.”
John’s go-to spring garden tools:
A pole pruner reignites flower growth in tree canopies.
Reshaping hedges is made easier with a STIHL hedge trimmer.
Minimise waste with a garden shredder for mulching and composting.
A STIHL brushcutter makes tidying up weeds a lot easier.
Don’t forget safety. Wear closed-toe shoes, sturdy gloves and goggles.