Ahead of the gardening season kicks into full gear, evaluate your landscape concerning sustainability. Are you really doing everything that you can to reduce water, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer usage? Are you composting? Are you harvesting rainwater? Have you been planting the ideal plant in the ideal place? Can you mulch? Let this be the year you believe a more ecofriendly strategy.
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Pinch annuals. Pinch spent blossoms off pansies to maintain their peak flowering performance throughout spring.
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Cut back perennials. February is a good time to cut back liriope. The trick isn’t to cut it too late, or you will risk cutting new growth. The plant won’t recover from the damage, and it can look tattered.
The solid green assortment spreads. If your original layout had a pattern, and if you want to maintain that pattern (generally an alternating X pattern), dig out the liriope that has spread, after the cutback, bringing your original layout.
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Plant peonies. You’re still able to plant peonies. Fall would have been ideal, but they can be planted now as well. Be sure the cap of the crown is just above the soil line. Peonies need cold weather set the buds. Fertilize before the spring development, to ensure that nutrition will be readily available when the plant requires it.
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Enjoy bulbs. Fertilize your tulips and daffodils as the foliage begins to rise. An overall 10-10-10 fertilizer will work good, however there are also products created especially for flowering bulbs, such as Holland manufacturer products.
Other bulbs, such as paperwhite narcissus and hyacinths, are easy to force and can be enjoyed inside while waiting for spring.
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Tame vines. If your vines have gotten out of hand, late winter is a great time to tame them. Cut back wisteria, Virginia creeper, ivy and Japanese honeysuckle.
Samuel H. Williamson Associates
Plant trees. Provided that the ground isn’t frozen, it’s still a good time to plant shrubs and trees. Prepare the planting hole with ample compost. Additionally cover the root ball with mulch, being careful to not bring the mulch right up into the trunk.
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Fertilize. February is the time to fertilize your flowering ornamentals. My beds get most of their nutrients from decaying composted leaf mulch, but oftentimes after a soil evaluation, I’ll use an organic fertilizer.
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Prepare beds that are new. A warm winter day is ideal for preparing a new or existing garden bed. For a new website, indicate the region of the new mattress and groom it with several layers of paper. Add organic matter, like composted leaf mulch, as the closing top dressing.
For present beds, work the ground with a garden fork to loosen the soil and mix from the organic matter. In doing so, you will improve soil fertility and drainage.
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Add lime into your own fig trees. Our area tends to be acidic, and figs would rather have a lot sweeter soil. Get a soil test to ascertain how much lime to apply. It’s not unusual to have to add about two cups of dolomitic lime.
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Manage pests. Camellia blooms should be chosen from beneath the bush. This will assist in preventing the spread of disease.
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