Pensacola News Journal

For: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2003

By: Daniel E. Mullins

Extension Horticulture Agent

Santa Rosa County

February Gardening Tips

There is plenty to do in the garden and landscape this month. Following are some suggestions:

● Pick up old camellia flowers that have fallen and remove them from your property. This practice will help to reduce the incidence of flower blight next spring.

● Cool season lawn weeds are at their most vigorous stage right now. Control them before they begin producing seed by hand pulling or using an appropriate post-emergent type herbicide.

● If heavy shrub pruning is necessary to reduce the size of overgrown shrubs, this is the time to do this job. Delay the pruning of azaleas, camellias, spireas and other early spring flowering shrubs until after they have finished flowering.

● Spray fruit trees and woody ornamental shrubs with a solution of horticultural oil emulsion. This is a relatively non-toxic way of controlling overwintering scales, mites and other pests. Follow label directions carefully.

● Finish pruning grapes, peach and other fruit trees.

● Prepare annual beds for spring planting. Incorporate generous amounts of organic amendments such as peat, compost or manure. If fresh material is used, wait at least 3 weeks following the application before seeding or setting out bedding plants.

● Start tomatoes, peppers and eggplants indoors in containers for transplanting to the garden during mid to late March.

● Prepare for spring lawn care by servicing the lawn mower. This includes an oil change, lubrication, cleaning, sharpening the blade and adjusting the cutting height for your kind of grass. Consult your owner’s manual for specific recommendations.

● There is time for another planting of the cool season vegetables. In February, plant seeds of English peas, beets, carrots, kohlrabi, leek, mustard, parsley, radish and turnips. Establish transplants of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, endive, escarole, kale, lettuce, bunching onions and multiplying onions. Establish Irish potatoes by planting 2 ounce seed pieces with eyes.

● Daylily rust is a relatively new disease that is damaging many plantings in Northwest Florida. Practice sanitation in daylily beds by removing dead and infected leaves. Fungicide applications can be helpful in controlling this disease, but must be begun early for best results. There are specific fungicide recommendations for this disease. Contact your local Extension Agent for information or go online at http://plantdoctor.ifas.ufl.edu/. Once in the site, click on “ornamentals” and you will find the latest information about controlling this disease.

Question of the Week: Is the scuppernong grape and the muscadine grape the same?

Answer: Scuppernong was the first named variety, or cultivar, of muscadine. Since then, dozens of other muscadine cultivars have been developed. Most of the newer ones bear several times more grapes than scuppernong. So, a scuppernong is a muscadine, but not all muscadines are scuppernongs. Your local Extension office can provide information about growing muscadines, including a list of the latest recommended varieties.