Seasonal Garden Care: Fertilizing, Pruning & Pollination Tips

A thriving garden isn’t just about planting at the right time — it’s about knowing how to care for your plants through each season. From fertilizing routines to smart pruning strategies and helping pollinators do their job, seasonal garden care ensures your landscape stays healthy and productive year-round. Here’s how to get it right.

Spring

• Fertilizing: Use a balanced, slow-release fertilizer on most perennials and shrubs. For vegetables, start with compost or an organic starter fertilizer.
• Pruning: Cut back dead stems and winter damage. Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they bloom to avoid cutting off next year’s buds.
• Pollination: Start adding pollinator-friendly plants early. Bees are active as soon as temperatures rise.

Summer

• Fertilizing: Continue feeding vegetables and flowering annuals every 2–4 weeks. Avoid fertilizing during drought stress or heatwaves.
• Pruning: Light shaping is fine. Deadhead flowers to extend bloom time. Remove suckers and leggy growth as needed.
• Pollination: Keep a variety of blooms going to feed bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Don’t spray pesticides while pollinators are active.

Fall

• Fertilizing: Use a low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus fertilizer to support root growth in lawns and perennials. Stop fertilizing vegetables and annuals.
• Pruning: Cut back spent annuals and trim perennials as needed, but leave some for winter interest and wildlife.
• Pollination: Let late-bloomers like goldenrod and aster stay up for fall pollinators. Plant bulbs to provide early spring forage next year.

Winter

• Fertilizing: Take a break. Most plants are dormant and don’t need added nutrients.
• Pruning: Winter is ideal for pruning deciduous trees and shrubs while they’re dormant. Avoid pruning evergreens unless necessary.
• Pollination: Plan your spring pollinator garden and prep by ordering seeds and supplies early.

When you tailor your garden care to the rhythm of the seasons, your plants will thank you with stronger growth, better blooms, and bigger harvests.