February Checklist
1. Most spring flowering bulbs should have already been planted by now.
2. Remove old flowers from your cool-season bedding plants to extend blooming and improve flower performance.
3. Plant gladiolus in late February. Prolong the blooming season by planting at two- to three-week intervals for a couple of months.
4. Mulch shrubs and flower beds to get plants off to a good spring start and minimize weed problems.
5. Watch azaleas in February for lacebugs. They cause the foliage to have numerous small white spots and feed underneath lower foliage. Control with horticultural oil sprays or Orthene.
6. A late-winter planting of petunias will provide a good flower show for early spring. Consider the new Wave series.
7. Winter is a great time for planting trees. Some excellent native species for Louisiana include nuttall oak, southern red oak, willow oak, red maple, southern sugar maple, southern magnolia, baldcypress and mayhaw.
8. February is the ideal time to fertilize trees. Young trees grow faster if fertilized annually.
9. January and February are good months to prune landscape trees and any deciduous and evergreen plants that don’t flower in the spring.
10. Clean and sharpen tools before you put them away. Wipe the metal blades with an oily cloth that coats them with a thin layer of protective oil to help prevent corrosion. Coat wooden handles with protectants such as a sealer, tung oil or varnish.
11. February is a good time to plant container or bare-root roses. Bare-root rose bushes should be planted by the end of February. Early planting allows rose bushes to become established in their new locations before they begin to bloom. This increases the number and quality of flowers, and the bush is more prepared to deal with summer heat when it arrives in May. Plant roses in sunny, well-prepared beds that have excellent drainage.
12. Look for Louisiana Super Plants at your local nurseries. Louisiana Super Plants are selected for their outstanding performance around the state and are “university tested and industry approved.”
Flowering Bedding Plants
Late winter also is a good time to plant cool-season bedding plants. Planted in late January or early February, they will produce lots of colorful flowers for your spring gardens. The display will be far more attractive and last longer than plantings of cool-season bedding plants done in April. By late March and April, it’s time to begin focusing on warm-season bedding plants.
Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs planted in winter have more time to settle in and make root growth before the intense heat of summer begins to stress them, so they have a real advantage over trees planted later. In addition, selecting a tree for your landscape is a serious decision that requires careful and thoughtful consideration on what tree would be the best choice. You don’t want to make a mistake and plant a tree with characteristics that become problems in future years.
February Lawn Care
Soil analysis of La. lawns is encouraged about every 3 years or so and winter is a good time to submit samples. Make sure to specify the type of grass you are growing on the soil test form. Soil samples submitted to the LSU AgCenter cost only $10, and they provide a wealth of information concerning the overall fertility of your soil.
If results of the soil test indicate the soil pH is too acidic, lime will be prescribed in the soil test recommendations. Winter is the best time to apply lime so it can be fully activated by the following spring. The correct soil pH is extremely important and has everything to do with nutrient availability to your lawn’s roots and to fertilizer performance.
Postpone any permanent warm-season turfgrass establishment from seed until spring. Sod, such as St. Augustine and centipede grasses, can be laid during winter, if necessary, but remember to keep it moist to prevent it from drying out and dying. Establishment is easiest when delayed until the middle of spring, well after spring green-up.
Lawns may show signs of green-up in southern Louisiana in late February. Do not encourage turfgrass growth with fertilizer at that time. Fertilizer applied too early will feed winter weeds and will result in lush turfgrass growth that is more susceptible to injury from late frosts or brown patch. Lawns may be fertilized in the New Orleans area about mid-April.
Vegetables
You can plant cool-season vegetables, such as beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, collards, lettuce, mustard, potatoes, radishes, spinach, snow peas and turnips early in February. Plant seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in greenhouses or under lights indoors.
submitted by Karen Blackburn