February is upon us. The groundhog saw his shadow, so we have 6 more weeks of winter. Let us hope he is wrong. I don’t know about you but I had all the cold stuff I want this past January.
This is the month that several things need to be accomplished in your landscape. If you applied winter rye seed to your lawn last fall now is the time to put out an application of fertilizer. Please be sure that you follow directions and not over apply.
For you folks that have crape myrtles or roses February is an excellent month to prune these plants. Be sure to use sharp shears and give them a clean cut. While we are on the subject of roses, this is also an ideal month to set out your new bushes as well. Remember, they like open sunny areas with plenty of air circulation and well drained soil.
If you are like me and don’t like to battle lawn weeds all season try putting out a pre-emergent herbicide this month. I have been using Barricade for this purpose an have been extremely satisfied with the results. This is a granular product that will not hurt your lawn. Just remember to follow directions and water it in after applying. Or if you are lucky apply it before a good rain shower.
Your winter annuals should still be going strong so let’s not forget to give them a little liquid fertilizer on a regular basis. Finally if you have all those seed catalogs and are ready to order do so. You need to plant them in a good seed growing mix so you will be ready to transfer them to the garden when the time is right.
Weekend Gardener
Mike Wilson