The outside might still look a bit white right now, but a lot of green is on the way, and some local landscapers have advice for making sure your lawn is in the best shape possible.

The most important step is cleaning up all of the debris and leftover vegetation from the fall and winter.

“Your spring preparations should begin with a thorough yard cleanup,” said Eric Tyler, owner of Hillside Seasonal Services in Rome.

“One of the first things you should do is remove debris that has been deposited in your yard over the course of the cold season.”

This includes leaves, twigs, branches, and perhaps even garbage that found its way into your yard. 

“We had a lot of high wind storms this winter,” said Jason Failing, owner of JB Lawn & Snow in Oriskany.

“Get out there, get yards cleaned up, get all the sticks and branches cleaned up.”

Cleanup can be accomplished by raking your yard and pruning your trees and shrubs. Tyler said that you should prune in the early spring, which will improve your trees’ health as well as give them a more attractive shape. Pruning bushes will also help keep their size and shape under control.

Tyler also recommended paying attention to your soil, which needs both a steady supply of moisture and nutrients and a way to easily transport those nutrients. This is all about aeration and dethatching, both of which are available through Hillside Seasonal Services.

“Mulching improves plant health by helping to control moisture absorption by the plants and by preventing weeds,” Tyler stated. “Mulch helps moisture control by absorbing water from heavy rains and releasing it over time. Mulch prevents weeds from growing by keeping them covered and weighted down. Before you apply new mulch, be sure to remove the old.”

One thing to be careful about is putting down seed and fertilizer too early in the season, warned Failing. Sometimes your yard isn’t ready, and sometimes the weather in early spring will not cooperate.

“I would hold off on that until May,” Failing said about seed and fertilizer.