Spring cleaning is a time-honored tradition. In the yard,
though, a
University of Georgia scientist
said “winter
cleaning” is a better idea.

“You can prevent a lot of spring problems by doing some work
now,” said
Taft Eaker, an extensionÿ
homeowner IPM (integrated pest management) specialist with the
UGA College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Eaker manages the university’s Homeowner Plant IPM Diagnostic
Clinic,
which diagnoses insect- and disease-causing agents of homeowner
plant samples.
The Homeowner IPM lab handles about 2,000 home plant samples per
year.

“Here in the lab we identify many diseases and insects that
could have
been controlled by doing a little work through the winter,” he
said. “That
little bit of work can save many dollars in control of these
problems or
in replacing plants.”

Raking leaves, removing spent flowers and cleaning up fallen
limbs removes
overwintering sites for insect pests, he said. And getting rid
of the bugs’
winter homes will make them less plentiful next spring.

“Diseases overwinter in that debris, too,” Eaker
said. “That’s another
reason to clean it up. The disease organisms may go dormant
through the
cold season, so you may not see signs that they’re there. But
come spring,
you may have problems.”

Cleanup is important in home orchards, gardens and
landscapes, Eaker
said.

In the orchard, prune dead branches from fruit trees, he
said. Your
county extension agent can show you how to prune properly to
avoid damaging
trees.

Cut back bunch grape and muscadine vines to the main stem.
Destroy weeds
and clean up any plant debris and fallen fruit.

In the landscape, he said, prune shrubbery in winter only for
corrective
reasons.

Remove old mulch from flower beds and from around trees and
fruit bushes
and destroy it. Or add it to your compost pile.