February Green Tips
Landscaping
- Propagate deciduous shrubs this month by cutting pencil-sized pieces, dipping the base end in rooting hormone and sticking in soil with 1-3 inches showing above the ground. Cuttings will root in spring.
- Check and replace damaged rodent guards around fruit trees. Bring in cut branches of flowering quince, flowering dogwood, forsythia, star magnolia, viburnums, flowering cherry or crab apple to force blooming for indoor enjoyment.
- Thin out over-grown lilacs you've been meaning to get to. Remove entire suckers/stems at ground level to improve structure of the shrub and enable passage more air circulation and sunlight (result is less mildew and more blooms).
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Lawns
- Avoid applying fertilizer at this time of year.
- Seed, over-seed or sod lawn areas after mid-February.
- Apply pre-emergence annual weed control products as soon as mild weather arrives, anytime after mid-February. *An organic alternative to chemical pre-emergent weed and feed is Corn Gluten Meal (7-10% organic nitrogen source)
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Houseplants
- When purchasing new houseplants, keep them separated from existing plants for a few weeks to prevent introducing disease and insects.
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Vegetables
- Conduct a germination check on stored seed before sowing them indoors. Place 10 seeds between layers of damp paper towel in a small plastic bag. Place packet in a warm place, such as on top of the refrigerator. Check every few days to determine germination rate and percentage.
- Start onions and leeks from seed indoors.
- Plan vegetable garden, making sure to rotate crops from last year's location.
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Flowers
- Sow seeds of slow-growing annuals indoors late in the month.
- Prepare planters by scrubbing away last year's salt accumulation and filling ¾ full with commercial potting mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite.
- Pinch back or take cuttings from leggy over-wintering plants
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Timely Tip
- Paint the handles of garden tools with bright, neon colored paint now so they will be easy to spot out in the garden this spring.
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Ecco Tip
- De-icing salts (especially magnesium chloride) can burn turf and herbaceous plants.
- High amounts can also affect some trees and shrubs such as white pine, spruce and linden.
- Consider switching to calcium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate, which are considerably less damaging to plants.
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