FEBRUARY CHECKLIST

Brrr, it's cold outside, but activity is starting to happen. It's not quite as dark at 4pm, thank goodness. Buds are starting to show on bulbs, winter flowers are coming in to add some needed color to the grey days, fruit trees have arrived. Yes, it's still a bit early and cold to do much in the garden, but you can start your spring activities any day now...

Here's a checklist:

Around the home

• Sow edible peas and flowering sweet peas directly in garden beds.
• Brighten wintry-looking pots and containers with primroses, ranunculus, and flowering bulbs.
• Apply amendments to change or maintain the blue or pink color on hydrangeas. Wait until March to prune them.
• Prune roses.
• On a dry day, apply a dormant spray to roses and fruit trees to prevent pest and disease issues later in the season.
• Late in the month, prune fruit trees.
• Thin flowering vines to encourage new growth.
• Transplant deciduous shrubs before they start leafing out.
• Trim evergreen grasses. If you haven’t cut back your deciduous grasses, do it now.
• Check herbaceous perennials and pull back mulch if pushing new growth.
• Remember, despite the little bursts of warm weather and sunshine, it's still winter. Be prepared to cover your tender plants when the forecast calls for freezes.

Edible gardening

• Plant onion sets.
• Start tomatoes and peppers seeds indoors.
• Plan your veggie garden. Cold weather-loving veggie starts, including lettuce, kale, spinach, broccoli, and fava beans begin arriving toward the end of the month.
• If you have a sunny window, try growing an indoor herb garden. We have trays, soil, and seeds.

Lawn care

• Stop mowing - in fact, just leave your lawn the way it is. No mowing, less foot traffic.

Indoor plants

• Consider your house conditions - If your house is drafty, you may want to move some of your indoor plants to a less drafty spot. Ensure that your houseplants are getting enough humidity, as houses are typically very dry during the winter months. If your house is dark, then maybe move your plants to a sunnier spot. Or get a plant light.
• Stop fertilizing - Pull back or even stop fertilizing your houseplants as growth slows down due to less light and cooler temperatures. Start fertilizing again in March.
• Add some new houseplants - This is not a bad time to give your houseplants some friends. Also, the December classics, poinsettias, Christmas cactus, etc. are welcome bursts of color.