For:
By: Daniel E. Mullins
Extension Horticulture Agent
February Gardening Tips
February is the most confusing month for many gardeners. Warm days tease us to go ahead and get started with spring jobs, but intermittent frosts and freezes continue to postpone many activities.
There is much that can be done, even during this month. Following are some suggestions:
■ Finish pruning deciduous shrubs and fruit trees including peach, plum, fig, hibiscus, crape myrtle and rose.
■ Some flowering annuals can be
transplanted this month if plants are available. These include Baby’s Breath, Calendula,
■ Apply a spray containing horticultural oil emulsion for
controlling scale on shrubs. Some
species most likely to be infested are Camellia, holly, Pittosporum and Euonymus.
■ In the vegetable garden plant seeds of
beets, carrots, celery, kohlrabi, leek, mustard, parsley, English pea, radish
and turnip. Establish plants of
broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collard, kale, endive,
escarole, lettuce, bunching onions and multiplying onions. Plant Irish potato seed
pieces.
■ Remove weeds, old diseased plants and other debris from last
season’s vegetable and flower beds.
Prepare for spring planting by incorporating organic materials such as
peat, manure or compost.
■ Service the power garden equipment. Consult the owner’s manual for specific
recommendations.
■ Grow your own spring vegetable plants by starting them
indoors. Plant seeds of tomato, eggplant
and pepper in a clean, well drained potting mixture and expose the seedlings to
as much natural light as possible. If planted
in early to mid February, the plants should be about the right size for
transplanting to the garden by mid to late March.
■ Resist the urge to prune cold injured tropical and subtropical
plants too early. Wait until new spring
growth first begins to emerge and then prune away dead branches.
Question of the Week: Can Abelia be trimmed back at this time of year? Mine are getting leggy and would benefit (I
think) from some pruning.
Answer: This is probably Abelia grandiflora, commonly known as glossy
abelia. It is a well adapted shrub for
the
Abelia is classified as
a summer flowering shrub, meaning that it blooms on current season’s
growth. It can therefore be pruned
during the dormant season. I suggest
waiting until late February, or just before new growth is expected to
emerge.
There are now newer,
lower growing cultivars of Abelia that can be used where smaller summer
flowering shrubs are desired. Abelia
grandiflora “Francis Mason” grows three to four feet tall and has pink
flowers. “Sherwoodi” grows to about four
feet and is a good choice for a mass effect in full sunlight or partial
shade. “Edward Gaucher”
makes a shrub that is about five feet high by five feet wide, bearing clear
pink flowers.