How to Prepare Your Michigan Landscape for Spring

To prepare your Michigan landscape for spring, follow this 6-step sequence: assess winter damage in late March, clean debris in early April, inspect drainage systems, prune trees and shrubs before leaf-out, address the lawn when soil hits 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit in late April, and mulch and plant after the last frost around mid-May. This order matters — here is why.

Every spring in Michigan is a reset. Our landscapes take a beating from November through March — freeze-thaw cycles, salt damage, snow load on shrubs, ice buildup on hardscapes. What you do in late March and April determines how your property looks for the rest of the year. Here's the order I recommend tackling it.

Step 1: How Should You Assess Winter Damage? (Late March)

Before you touch anything, walk your entire property and take notes. You're looking for:

• Drainage issues: Where is snowmelt pooling? Those are the low spots that will collect water all spring and summer.
• Hardscape damage: Check pavers, walkways, and retaining walls for heaving, shifting, or settling. Freeze-thaw cycles move everything.
• Tree and shrub damage: Look for broken branches, split trunks from ice loading, and dead sections. Arborvitae and boxwood are especially vulnerable to snow damage in Oakland County.
• Lawn condition: Identify areas of snow mold (gray or pink fuzzy patches), bare spots, and compacted areas from foot traffic or snowplow damage.
• Gutter and downspout function: Run water through your gutters and make sure downspouts are carrying water away from the foundation, not dumping it next to the house.

Step 2: When Should You Clean Up Debris? (Early April)

Remove fallen branches, dead leaves, and any debris that accumulated over winter. This isn't just aesthetics — matted leaves smother your lawn and create disease conditions. Clear leaves out of landscape beds, from around the base of shrubs, and off your hardscapes.

A word of caution: don't clean up too early. If nighttime temperatures are still dropping below 32F consistently, beneficial insects are still dormant in leaf litter. In Oakland County, early to mid-April is typically the right window.

Step 3: How Do You Check and Repair Drainage Systems? (April)

If you have French drains, catch basins, or underground downspout extensions, now is the time to verify they're working. Run water through each system and confirm it's discharging properly. Catch basin grates get clogged with leaves and debris over winter — pull them and clean them out.

This is also when drainage problems reveal themselves most clearly. Spring snowmelt saturates the soil, and if your drainage system has settled, shifted, or clogged, you'll see standing water where there shouldn't be any. Address drainage issues before doing any other landscape work — there's no point planting or laying sod if the area is going to flood.

Step 4: When Is the Best Time to Prune in Michigan? (April - Early May)

Prune dead, damaged, and crossing branches from trees and shrubs. For spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, lilac, rhododendron), wait until after they bloom to prune — otherwise you're cutting off this year's flowers. For summer-flowering shrubs and most trees, early spring before leaf-out is the ideal pruning window.

Michigan's late frosts (we can get frost into mid-May in Oakland County) mean you shouldn't prune anything too aggressively in March. New growth stimulated by pruning is vulnerable to frost damage.

Step 5: How Do You Recover a Michigan Lawn After Winter? (Late April - May)

Michigan lawns need a specific spring sequence: rake to break up matted grass and snow mold, overseed bare spots when soil temperatures hit 50-55F consistently (usually late April in Oakland County), apply a light starter fertilizer, and begin mowing when the grass reaches 3.5-4 inches. Set your mower height to 3 inches — never cut more than one-third of the blade at a time.

Skip the weed-and-feed products in spring if you're overseeding. Pre-emergent herbicides prevent grass seed from germinating too. You can apply crabgrass preventer to established areas and overseed bare patches separately.

Step 6: When Should You Mulch and Plant in Michigan? (Mid-May)

Wait until after the last frost date (typically mid-May in Oakland County) to plant annuals and tender perennials. Apply 2-3 inches of hardwood mulch to landscape beds — don't pile it against tree trunks or shrub bases (volcano mulching kills plants). Refresh edging between beds and lawn for a clean, finished look.