Gardening Notes for February

Things to do:

Outdoors

February is prime pruning time for deciduous trees and shrubs (including fruit trees) while they are dormant. Let wounds heal naturally. Always use sharp tools to make clean cuts, and be on the lookout for dead, damaged, or diseased wood and remove as discovered. This is especially important in winter's harsher weather, where weaknesses left in place invite tearing and unnecessary damage. Remove suckers and water sprouts, too.

Review garden beds, unless the ground is muddy; walking on sodden soil is too damaging. Check to see if mulches are in place or if they've heaved, or if burlap and other protectors have come loose, exposing vulnerable plants to possible heaving damage or windburn.

Indoors

Force branches of spring-blooming shrubs and trees like pussy willow, forsythia, apple and cherry once buds have begun to swell. Cut on an angle and put indoors in water. Submerge them overnight, then place them in a bucket of water draped with a plastic bag, until the buds push off their coverings. The closer to actual bloom date you try to force things, the higher the success rate. Likewise, colorful twigs from shrub dogwoods and willows make good indoor arrangements now, and many need stooling (cutting to maybe 8 inches from the ground) every other or third year

Do seed germination testing to see what leftovers are still viable - toss seeds more than a few years old and make a list of what you'll need. Seed catalogue season is in full-tilt.

Don't start vegetable seedlings too early. Small, compact seedlings are better transplants than older, leggy ones. Only leeks and onions should be started indoors this month in this zone; most seedlings take eight weeks or less to be garden-ready, so count back from final frost about two months for first sowings.

Prevent dampening off, a fungal disease that kills seedlings, by starting with clean containers and sterile soilless mix each year. Wash previously used flats, cell packs or pots with a 1:10 solution of bleach and water, and stock up on medium, to prepare for use later.

Houseplants are starting to awaken, nudged by longer days and stronger late-winter light. They will need a bit more moisture (let them dry between waterings, though) and an occasional half-strength fertilizing.

Keep an eye out for signs of houseplant pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. If tackled before they get out of hand, nonchemical methods are usually successful: a simple shower of insecticidal soap spray (as directed on label) or with the most tenacious (like mealybugs) sometimes an alcohol swab and Q-tip. Overwatering is the biggest risk to houseplants in winter, so go easy and always check with a finger poked well into the pot first.

Start a pot of paperwhites in potting soil or pebbles and water, or better yet a water-booze mix (a combination of vodka and water keeps the stalks sturdier), and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winter long display.