What to do - February

Most people think that the winter is the perfect time to do nothing in their yard and garden. Not so! The following is a list of the maintenance issues that can be addressed in the winter, as well as guidance in planning for the year to come.

1. Take a walk through your yard and garden. Take a look at the woody plants that surround you. Make notes regarding the need for fertilizer (best applied in early spring before foliage emerges), any insect infestations (limbs that look abnormally thick may be holding an egg mass) or a fungus that's taken a hold on your woody plants. The healthier the tree is the less likely it will become infested, so maintaining the strength and vitality of your tree. By properly pruning, watering, mulching and fertilizing them. "Fertilizing trees and shrubs in your landscape is not necessarily an annual ritual. Many gardeners have the false impression that the more fertilizer they apply the more the plant will grow. Fertilizer is not plant food. Plants use water, carbon dioxide, elements from fertilizer, and energy from the sun to produce their own food...Addition of the correct amount of fertilizer can promote healthy flower production and foliage growth while an excessive fertilizer application can decrease plant health and can lead to decline and death." (www.na.fs.fed.us) If you are not sure if fertilizer is needed, please call a professional.

2. Prune! Trees and shrubs are dormant and bleeding (loss of sap) is minimal. IN A FEW CASES IT'S BEST TO WAIT (SEE BELOW), but for the most part, it's best to prune while they are dormant. By pruning during the dormant season you are minimizing sap and resin flow from cut branches reducing the changes of insect infestation and/or disease, you can also see the structure of the tree and thus make more precise cuts. Prune trees and shrubs without showy flowers during the dormant season. You can also prune flowering trees and shrubs during the dormant season for the reasons stated above. However, to help preserve the flowers for the coming season prune trees and shrubs that flower in early spring (redbud, dogwood, etc.) immediately AFTER FLOWERING. The exceptions are many varieties of crabapple, hawthorn, pear, mountain ash,flowering quince and pyracantha which should be pruned during the winter. Trees and shrubs that flower in the summer or fall always should be pruned during the winter. Dead branches should, and can, be removed any time of the year. If you have questions, always check with your counties extension office or a horticulturist for more specific information.

3. Plan, plan, plan! If you are lucky you are starting to see the tops of stone walls, tree stumps and maybe a bit of grass under the snow. There many even be a short thaw. Animals start to become much more active. This is the time to start drawing out diagrams and planting beds for the coming year. Hopefully you have kept notes, ideas and comments from the previous year. (If not, try and keep a record this coming year, it cuts down on impulse buys that are later regretted). Take out any documentation from last year. Pull out the catalogs, I keep mine stashed in a quiet corner from when they start arriving (December and January) until I'm ready to sit down and plan for the upcoming year. Take your time in creating a landscape that you are excited about caring for. Remember to consider maintenance for the year, there is nothing more depressing then seeing a beautiful garden taken over by weeds.