February 2019 gardening advice

snow birds

by Jennifer Fairfield

Let’s Dream About Gardening!

I’m looking for the “glass half full” thing in our weather the last days of January, and it’s a little hard – I think the glass froze! My friends and family will attest to the fact that I don’t like hot weather (I get whiny when it goes over 80), but the bitter cold of the last few days have me rethinking that. I do have some reason for optimism, though. February 2^nd is the mid-point of winter, so we’re halfway to spring as of tomorrow! Another thing to boost my spirits is the sun – at the beginning of the year, we had less than 9 hours and 9 minutes of daylight. As of today, we will have gained almost an entire hour of daylight since then, and by the end of the month, we will gain another full hour. I don’t know about you, but that makes me happy! Oh – and the temps this weekend were 50 degrees higher than they were on Wednesday. You just have to love Michigan weather!

Another thing that makes me happy is the fact that gardening seeds are arriving at the Garden Mill. Seeing them arrive is such a spirit booster – it makes me realize that spring is really coming, and I can almost taste the fresh peas! While I’m waiting for the day I can harvest my peas, I have a few things to do to get ready:

Outdoors:

• When you are out shoveling your sidewalks and driveways, don’t shovel the snow onto your lawn or planting beds if there is salt in it. The salt you put down to help keep your walks and drives clear is really bad for your plants and grass.
• This month is the best time to prune many trees and shrubs, as well as roses. You want to get this task done while the plants are still dormant. By pruning at this time of year, you encourage lots of new growth in the spring, without the risk of insects being attracted to the wounds. The Chicago Botanic Gardens has some good advice on pruning trees in winter.
• It is especially important to prune oak trees while they are dormant, as they are extremely susceptible to oak wilt if pruned in warmer months. Other trees that do best when pruned now include flowering crabapples, mountain ash, and hawthorns. Trees that shouldn’t be pruned now include dogwood and redbud, since their flowers bloom on last year’s growth. Pruning them now will reduce the number of flowers produced this spring.
• While you’re out pruning, one reason to consider pruning spring-blooming trees or shrubs is so that you can bring some spring into your home a little early by trimming off some branches and bringing them indoors for forcing. Some of the best ones to try are cherry, crabapple, flowering dogwood, magnolia, flowering quince, forsythia, honeysuckle, lilac, pussy willow, and redtwig dogwood. This article from Fine Gardening has tips for how to get the best blossoms.
• If we are get some days when temperatures are above freezing late in the month, consider an application of dormant oil for your trees. Dormant oils can kill over-wintering insects, spores and fungus that can harm your trees. Proper application of dormant oil is important, so be sure to read directions carefully to make sure that you are using the oil meant for your plant, and that you are using it at the right time and under the right conditions (usually not on a windy day!).
• Keep bird feeders filled at this time of year, as natural sources of food are getting scarce or are hard to get to under all the snow. Keeping your feeders full also means that the birds don’t have to waste precious energy in the freezing temps trying to find food. My birds have been putting on quite the show of appreciation for the full feeders in my yard the last few days. (The picture at the top was taken on Tuesday in my yard. Can you spot the two female cardinals and the mourning dove in my apple tree?!)
• Also keep bird baths full and thawed, so that your birds have a good supply of fresh drinking water. A heated birdbath or a deicer in your birdbath are perfect for this purpose.

On days when it’s just too cold (or snowy) to even think about doing anything outdoors (like the past few days!), there’s still plenty to do inside.

Indoors:

• Clean and sharpen your tools, if you didn’t in the fall, so that they are ready to get to work when you are. Get some good tips on cleaning and sharpening from this article by Fine Gardening Magazine.
• Go through seeds leftover from last year – many of them will still be perfectly fine for planting this year. Once you’ve figured out what you have, determine what you need and go get it. If you wait too long, you may not get the varieties you want. And going through the seed packs at your favorite garden store is a great way to forget about winter for a little while!
• If you are going to start plants indoors this year, make sure you have everything you need – seed starting mix, pots, working lights, heating mats, etc. It’s no fun finding out you’re missing a critical element when you are ready to get started.
• Though most vegetable and herb plants don’t get started indoors until March, rosemary is one plant to start now, since it takes quite a while to germinate and then grow to a suitable size for transplanting outside.
• Starting perennial flowers indoors this month also gives them more time to get to transplanting size, and makes them more likely to bloom the first year. It’s also a great way to save money, as seeds and soil generally cost a lot less than perennial plants!
• Be sure to clean out any previously used pots you want to use for repotting of house plants or for outdoor container gardening. Disinfecting your pots before using them again ensures that they are not harboring any harmful bacteria. Do this task now so your pots will be ready to use when you’re ready for them. Use a 1 to 9 ratio of bleach to water and a wire brush to be sure to get all the leftover dirt, and then thoroughly rinse the pots to get rid of the bleach.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.