February Gardening Tips

February plays with gardeners, sometimes coming on mild and other times clinging to its winter ways.   It may seem mild enough plant trees and shrubs, but for perennials it’s safer to wait until March to plant.  The earth is likely to continue to be wet, soggy enough to make sown seeds rot in the ground, never to appear.  To minimize this problem, garden where soil is drained or in raised beds.

 There are other things you can do to help with the winter blues! Here are some helpful tips:

Indoor Gardening:

Potted plants are killed with overwatering.  Before watering, insert your finger into the soil to see if it’s still moist under the surface.  If so, wait a little longer to water.

As days begin to get longer, houseplants will start growing again.  This is an ideal time to fertilize and/or repot them.

Woody Plants: 

Soak store-bought and mail-order bare-root plants in tepid water for several hours before planting.  If the soil is too wet or the garden site is not ready, plant them in nursery pots temporarily.

Transplant trees and shrubs while dormant if the ground is dry enough.  If not fertilized in the fall, side dress shrubs and trees that have been growing too slowly and showing poor leaf color with a balanced organic fertilizer.

Check for overwintering insects and disease.  Apply dormant all-season oil spray to smother scale, eggs, and other overwintering pests.

Lawns:  

If soil is dry enough, begin major lawn work.  Remove debris; aerate compacted areas to improve water penetration; fill in low spots with sand and/or topsoil.  

Flowers:

Cut back ornamental grasses, coneflowers, and other perennials.  Fertilize emerging perennials and bulbs with a balanced organic fertilizer.  Begin heavy annual pruning of hybrid tea roses and fertilize with organic rose fertilizer or manure.  

Around The Yard: 

Be sure the ground is dry enough to work before you start walking on or digging in it.

Check soil for drainage before planting.  Dig a hole 1’ deep and 2’ wide.  When soil is dry, fill the hole with water and see how long it takes to drain.  If less than 10 minutes it’s sharply drained.  If less than 4 hours, it’s reasonably well drained.  If over 4 hours, drainage is poor.

When soil is dry enough and not frozen, rototill empty beds, breaking them up to 7” or 8” deep.  Test soil pH and adjust if needed, and add liberal amounts of compost or rotted manure.