February - Pruning, Planting & "Sweethearting"

February offers some prime planting time, a great opportunity for garden gifts from the heart, and several other joy of gardening opportunities. Take a look...

• Northwest Rule of Green Thumb: Prune Your Roses By President’s Day! (This applies to growing regions similar to those up and down the Oregon-Washington I-5 corridor – in situations where it’s too cold, hold off until the weather warms up some.) For this pruning: Get rid of all of last year’s foliage, old blooms and dead wood, ending up with 3-5 short, thick, healthy canes. Keep the center of the bush open to promote new cane growth from the bud union. And don't be afraid of pruning too much. For more details, click into Now's a Good Time to Prune Your Roses.
• February is bareroot rose planting time in the milder regions of the Northwest. Much of this area is ideal for growing roses, and dormant roses are starting to show up aplenty in your Fred Meyer Garden Center. Click into our 3-Step-No-Fail-Way to Plant Bareroot Roses.
• Add fertilizer to your houseplants as needed. Nourish those plants that are blooming now or showing new growth. Use half-strength fertilizer or solution. But remember, many houseplants are dormant at this time of year so don’t need this "boost" yet until they show signs of growth.
• Slug patrol. As those brief spurts of warmer weather visit us, so too do slimy little garden pests. You need to get out and control them either by hand or with slug bait placed around newly emerging plants. If you’re working the garden soil, squash any things that look like little white BBs – those are likely slug or snail eggs.
• A beautiful way to say, "I love you, Valentine!" Here’s a unique gift idea for February 14th… Create your own "European" Flower Baskets. It’s fun and really pretty easy. In fact, it’s one kids enjoy doing. And your Valentine will love it because you took the time to create it yourself!

Here's to every opportunity to get outside now for some joy of gardening...

While much of the information in these tips is applicable in several gardening zones/climates, some of the plants and timing suggested are best suited to the Northwest, generally in the mild/wet growing regions found along the I-5 corridor. You should make appropriate adjustments or consult local gardening experts in regions whose climates differ from this area of the Northwest.