Garden Tasks ​in
February 

Daffodils start the show in February

General landscape advice

• Reassess your garden. 
  • Consider adding plants or replacing underperforming plants.
  • Are the plants suited to the site (e.g., soil texture and pH, drainage, sun and shade patterns, wind).
  • Limb-up or “tree-form” large shrubs that may be out of scale with their neighbors.
• Evaluate your successes and failures in the garden last year. Review your records.
  • Focus on plants that grow well in our USDA planting zone (7B-8A)
  • Take care of the soil and improve your watering practices.  

• Avoid walking on grass or groundcovers while they are frozen, as leaves are tender and easily damaged. 
• Dig wild onions and garlic as they emerge by removing the bulblet underground.

• Mow Liriope and cut back ornamental grasses this month. Remove all cuttings. 
• Take a soil test.  See this great resource for what to do. ​

Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs  

• ​Watch for signs of growth in early spring bulbs. 
  
  • When about 1-inch high, start removing mulch (cloudy days are best).  Fertilize emerging bulbs.  
• Check dislodged perennials caused by freezing and thawing of the soil. 
  
  • Dig up, separate if necessary,  replant and water back in.  

• Plant seeds of Columbine, Foxglove, Coreopsis, Phlox, Daisies, Blackberry Lily.  

• Spread wood ashes on bulb beds, vegetable beds, and non-acid-loving plants.
• Feed pansies in late February.
• Wait until new growth emerges before cutting back Lantana and Salvia.
• Trim away dead leaves and stems from Asters, Coreopsis and Rudbeckia.
• Clean up Lenten Roses and Epimedium.  Remove old, dead and dying leaves to reveal the flowers.    

Shrubs and Trees

• Don’t prune Azaleas, Dogwood, Gardenia, Forsythias, Loropetalum, Hydrangea macrophylla and Spirea now, other than to remove dead or damaged wood.  Prune after they bloom.
• What you can prune: 
  • Hydrangea paniculata by 1/3 as needed and cut back Hydrangea arboresens to 10”
  • Prune Buddleia, Beautyberry, and Smoke bush to the ground to encourage summer flowers. 
  • Prune Abelia and Elderberry.
  • Prune Caryopteris back to low permanent framework as buds begin to swell.
  • Prune hybrid teas, grandiflora and floribunda roses before bud break in late February. On mature plants thin out 1/3 of the old canes to the ground to open up the plants.
  • Boxwood can be lightly pruned. 
  • Prune evergreens for shape and to encourage new growth.
  • Prune fig trees. 
  • Prune any dead, diseased, dying or damaged wood. 
• Take stems of Red Twig Dogwood down to the ground to prepare for new spring growth.
  • Prune to get a desired shape or form.  Severe pruning can be done now, but take no more than 1/3 of the plant’s height.
• ​ Watch for damage to trees and shrubs from ice and heavy winds. 
  
  • Remove any broken branches following proper pruning techniques. 
• Check for scale on Camellia and Euonymus and for spider mites on Juniper.
  
  • Treat as needed following instructions on pesticide labels as directed.
• Transplant trees and shrubs so that they get settled in before the summer heat sets in.

Indoor Gardening

• Start slow-developing flowers, like alyssum, coleus, dusty miller, geranium, impatiens, marigold, petunia, phlox, portulaca, salvia and verbena.
• Start herb seeds now in your own indoor mini-greenhouse in a warm, bright location out of direct sunlight.  
• Resume a fertilizer schedule for indoor plants.  Water a couple hours before fertilizing to avoid burning roots.
• Once a month, water your acid-loving house plants (gardenia, citrus) using a solution of 1 teaspoon of vinegar to 1 quart of water. 
• If your house plants are not growing well, check all five growing factors: light, temperature, nutrients, moisture and humidity, which must be favorable to provide good growth
• Avoid placing cacti and succulents in hot, stuffy areas.
  • Be sure the indoor garden is well ventilated, yet not drafty.  

Edible Gardens   

• Plan and purchase vegetable seeds before spring planting season.  
• Sow seeds of cool-season vegetables, like kale, chard, spinach and peas after the 15th.
• Create your own culinary theme garden with seeds for the cuisine you favor. 
  
  • For Oriental cooking, choose snow peas, green onions, Daikon radish, Chinese cabbage, and long, thin eggplant. 
    
  • For French, include haricot vert green beans, Courgette zucchini, mini-carrots, Butterhead lettuce, and the herbs chervil and French tarragon. 
    
  • Indian cuisine needs shell peas, fiery peppers and cumin.  

Mecklenburg Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers   
mastergardenersmecklenburg.org