Pacific Northwest February Gardening Tips
February 18, 2016
During February we see the first signs that spring is just around the corner. This month is especially important for pruning and planting. So take advantage of sunny days and get back in your garden.
- Watch out for cold snaps and be ready to protect tender plants
- Weed previously tilled flower beds.
- Start to rejuvenate flower beds using compost and slow-release fertilizer.
- Keep watering if needed
- Deal with Moss. Use the right product in the right place. Lawn moss controls contain iron, which stains concrete surfaces. Moss controls for roofs and concrete contain zinc, which may harm plants
- Plant bare-root stock such as roses, fruit trees berries, and grapes.
- Prune roses, fruit trees, evergreens, summer flowering shrubs, and landscape trees.
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Use a dormant spray on roses, fruit trees, deciduous trees, and shrubs to control scale.
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Propagate some new plants from cuttings
- Plant cool season vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce, onions
- Plant hardy annuals like Balsam, Calendula, Coneflower, English Daisies, Four O’clock, Hollyhocks, Annual Phlox, Poppies, Pansies, and Nasturtium.
- Start seeds of warm season vegetables and flowers in pots
- Pot up saved tubers and corms like begonias and cannas
- Weather permitting, you can start dividing perennials
- Begin to “harden off” tomatoes, peppers, and other indoor plantings by watering less and exposing plants to cool weather outside gradually.