Think Spring!
February is a great time to prepare your Garden.
In February, winter begins to wane in Georgia, a great time to prepare the gardens for spring. While cold temperatures are still present, mild days should allow us to plan, prune and plant. Look at your beds and determine where you want to add or move plants. Deciduous trees and shrubs with dead limbs and branches may be pruned to improve structure and airflow. Crossed branches should also be pruned to improve airflow and encourage healthy growth.
Now is not the time to prune spring-blooming plants (like Forsythia or Azaleas) – doing so will remove buds and compromise blooms.
Blueberries may be pruned during the Winter dormant season. Many tutorial videos explain how to prune specific plant varieties. I typically visit the UGA website for details on how and when to prune individual plants.
Paniculata and arborescent varieties of Hydrangeas may be pruned for size and shape. Other varieties of Hydrangeas should be pruned just after they bloom to ensure that you don’t cut off buds. You may remove dead or diseased branches of just about any plant, but save pruning for shape until after the plants bloom.
You may start seeds indoors. Read seed packets to determine the best time to start indoor seeds. Cool-season crops, like carrots, collards, lettuce, mustard, radishes, spinach and turnips, may be started indoors and transplanted once the soil temperatures warm up. Seed packets will inform you when to start and transplant each plant. Starting seeds indoors allows the plant to develop a strong root system before transplanting outside.
Remember that most seeds need adequate light for germination and growth. Grow lights may mimic optimal sunlight, and warming mats help mimic warmer soil temperatures. The Home Gardening section on UGA’s extension website provides valuable information on average soil temperatures and optimal times to start seeds and transplants.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to clean and sharpen your garden tools. Soap and water help remove dried-on dirt, and steel wool helps remove rust. Sharpen blades and sanitize with alcohol. Cleaning and sharpening tools preserve them and improve your plants’ overall health.
We grow roses! Many types and varieties are available for pre-order and purchase. Most climbing, grandiflora, floribunda and hybrid tea roses are only available in the Spring, so pre-ordering guarantees the selection you want for your landscape.
Join the Scottsdale Farms Garden Club to deepen your gardening knowledge and skills. Meet other gardeners and chat about your successes and challenges. Our February meeting will be held on Tuesday, 2.11.25, at 10:00am in our heated Events Pavilion. The topic will be Landscape Design Principals, and the presentation will be a colorful PowerPoint presentation to help you design your spaces.
Check out our Event page for details on our upcoming rose seminar. We will cover all Spring varieties, pruning, fertilizing, planting and general care. Meet fellow rose gardeners and prepare for a burst of color and fragrance.
“February is the Border between Winter and Spring.”
– Terri Guillemets