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February 2007 Landscape Calendar

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

• Visit your local spring home and garden shows such as the St. Paul Home and Garden Show, February 15-18, and the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show, February 28-March 4. You will be inspired by all the great new ideas for spring.

• Start planning now for summer projects. Make an appointment today with a landscape designer to get your plans going for the upcoming season.

• Choose a sunny day to get out and prune your fruit trees. This is the ideal time of year to shape these plants and without their leaves it’s easy to see what needs correcting. Remember, your goal is to let the sun shine down onto every branch and to eliminate rubbing limbs.

• Add a birdbath heater to your birdbath to attract more birds to your yard this winter. Birds love open water and a fresh supply of bird seed. Having a clean birdfeeder with fresh seed will attract more birds.

• Houseplants should be carefully checked each time they are watered. Any signs of sticky, cottony or fuzzy substances on leaves means scaly insects or mealybugs are present. Badly infested plants should be thrown out, but most plants can be safely treated using an insecticidal soap.

• Follow up on your summer flowering bulbs that you brought inside this past fall. Discard any bulbs that are soft or starting to rot. Move those that are starting to grow/sprout into a cooler, darker storage area.

• Shop garden centers now for the best selection of seeds. If you are starting seed indoors always use fresh seed starting mix rather than soil or potting mix. Seed starting mix is especially designed to allow excellent drainage.

• February is a busy time for gardeners who start seeds indoors. Start geraniums, pansies, snapdragons, impatiens, wax begonias, onions and celery now.

Web-exclusive tips:

• Bouquets of cut flowers seem to be easily available almost everywhere, from grocery stores to gas stations, and they add a colorful boost to our long winter days. Keep them fresher longer by making fresh cuts to the flower stems before placing in water and be to sure to mix in those handy preservative packets that come with most bouquets. Keeping the flowers in a cool location and changing the water when it becomes cloudy will make the bouquet last longer.

• February is a great time to start planning your future annual and perennial beds. Take the time to design a plan for new areas or what you want to add to established areas.

• With the thawing and refreezing of the ground, some plants have a tendency to heave out of the ground. One of these is the Heuchera or coral bells. Choose a warm day and just step gently on the crown and push them back in place.

• If temperatures permit and the ground is not frozen, get out and water your evergreens and rhododendrons. Last fall was dry and these plants can use all the moisture they can get during the dry winter.

• If you can’t wait for the beauty of spring, bring it inside now. Cut a branch with several plump flower buds from a magnolia, crabapple or fruit tree. This is best done on a warm day above freezing. Slit vertically the bottom 2 inches of the stem and submerge the entire branch in water for 2-3 hours (the bathtub works great). Then place the branch in a vase of water in a fairly shady location until the buds show color. Move the vase to a sunnier location. Mist occasionally and water regularly. In a few weeks, you will have a beautiful flowering springtime display in your home.

• Although it is important to trim most trees when they are dormant, it is especially important to trim oak, elm and honeylocust trees. This helps to reduce the spreading of diseases.

• Some robins are staying year round now, instead of migrating south. They rarely use feeders, so sprinkle raw ground beef on the ground under the feeder with some raisins.

• While you are outside, listen for the sounds of birds getting ready for spring. You can hear woodpeckers drumming to set up their territories and other birds trying out their breeding season melodies.

• Remember to rotate your amaryllis as they grow to keep the stems straight. This will keep these heavy flowers upright for support.

• Late February is a great time for pruning late flowering Clematis like C. x Jackmanii. The stems should be cut back to just above the lowest pair of healthy leaf buds.

• More and more people are overwintering geraniums. Cut back dormant geraniums about 6-9 inches just above a bud. The geraniums should have their root ball loosened and repotted into a slightly larger container. Water thoroughly and the geraniums should start new growth.

• This is great time to clean terracotta pots as well to prepare them for the spring. Soak the pots in a solution of water and ammonium sulphate. Gently scrub the pots with a stiff brush or wire wool pad. Let the pots air dry and place back into storage.

• Beat the rush, take your lawn mower in to be tuned up or repaired.

• While shopping for plants to start from seed, search for plant markers that will hold up in weather. Most garden centers sell durable copper or metal markers.

• Work on a plan for your vegetable and herb garden and begin shopping for seeds you will start indoors within the next month or so. Do some research on a new vegetable or two to add to your garden.

• Hold off starting your tomatoes and peppers until late March. Unless you want to repot them, which you will need to do if you start them now, they will be the perfect size for setting out in late May.

• One of the most pleasant winter experiences you can give yourself is a trip to the nearest place where things are green and growing and you don't need an airplane ticket to get there. Many of your local year-round garden centers grow their own plants or have volumes of houseplants that fill their stores with the smell of dirt and fresh foliage.

Resources

Linder’s Garden Center
651-488-1927

Devon’s Gardens
763-323-2096

Hy-Vee Garden Center
515-223-8151

Pahl’s Market
952-431-4345

Drummer Landscape & Garden Center
507-388-4877

Dundee Nursery and Floral
952-894-8740

Fairview Gardens
320-229-2281

Noble Landscape & Garden Center
763-862-7218

Gertens
651-450-1501

The Mustard Seed, Inc
952-361-9954

Villa Landscapes
Burnsville
952-894-1553
Maple Grove
763-425-9277
Oakdale
651-773-7440