Landscape Edging Blog

Well the first month of 2016 just flew by! Here are some tips and to dos to take care of your landscapes and gardens for the month of February!

 

• Shop for early spring flowering shrubs and vines, such as Carolina Jessamine, daphne, azalea, camellia, and early rhododendrons.
• Order perennial plants and bulbs now for cut flowers this summer. Some of our favourite choices are phlox, daisy, dahlia, cosmos, aster, gladiolus, and lily.
• Plant your bare-root vegetables such as artichoke, asparagus, horseradish,and rhubarb.
• Plant your spring flowering perennials. Choose from alstromeria, bleeding heart, coral bells, campanula, euryops, and perennial dianthus.
• Fertilize your spring -blooming flowers and fall-planted annuals and perennials. Wait to feed azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons until after bloom; use an acid based fertilizer.
• Be careful not to remove mulch from perennials too early. A warm day may make you think spring is almost here but there may be more cold weather yet to come.

 

• If the soil against your house dries out under the eaves where rain rarely reaches, water well during a thaw to prevent loss of plants. Remember that plants require water during the winter to replace water lost due to wind desiccation and lack of rain or snow.
• Late winter is the time to prune many deciduous trees. Look over your plants now and remove dead, dying, or unsightly parts of the tree, sprouts growing at or near the base of the tree trunk and crossed branches.
• If bird feeding has been a favorite activity this winter, order trees and shrubs which provide cover and small fruits for your feathered friends. Consider species such as crabapple and hawthorn which can help lure hungry birds from cultivated fruits, if planted on the opposite side of the yard.
• Finish pruning cane berries, deciduous fruit trees, grapes, roses, and wisteria by midmonth.
• Wait to prune spring -flowering deciduous ornamentals like forsythia and quince, and spring – flowering shrubs until after they flower.

 

• If you’re antsy to start gardening, you can grow micro greens and sprouts inside to reduce gardening restlessness.
• Branches of forsythia, pussy willow, quince, spirea, and dogwood can also be forced for indoor bloom. Make long, slanted cuts when collecting the branches and place the stems in a vase of water. Change the water every four days. They should bloom in about 3 weeks.
• Finalize garden design plans for the 100th time.
• Remember to handle seed packets carefully. Rubbing the outside to determine how many seeds are inside can break the protective seed coats, thereby reducing germination.
• Check your stored bulbs, tubers, and corms. Discard any that are soft or diseased.
• Repair and paint window boxes, lawn furniture, and other items that might need it, in preparation for outdoor gardening and recreational use.