Garden Tips
Bugs on houseplants?
Scout your houseplants for insects and nip them as soon as possible. Use products recommended only for indoor use. Horticultural oil will work well on most plants except those with fine leaves. Spray the soil too. Even a good shower can help.
Starting seeds outdoors in winter… try it with perennials
Now’s the perfect time to get rolling starting perennial seeds outdoors. For most indoor seed starting projects we recommend waiting a bit so the plants don’t become too large to handle before it’s time to set them out in the garden. However, this is a great technique to start perennials, and even annuals, without sacrificing valuable indoor space. Give it a try and discover a new way to save a few bucks on your perennials.
Spring plans
If you have a landscaping project in mind and need a little assistance with the planning, call or stop in to see Johanna for help. Winter is a great time to make landscape plans. All you need are measurements and your ideas.
Starting Slips
Have you saved a favorite plant so you can reproduce it in larger quantities? Now’s the time to start thinking about how you will get that done. You’ll need a warm and sunny spot to root your starts. For equipment see us for vermiculite, rooting media, rooting hormone, trays and domes plus instructions on how to get the job done. Your thriftiness will pay off this spring!
Get Holiday Bulbs Started
Amaryllis and paperwhites are a great way to exercise your green thumb during the late fall and winter. It’s also fun to force fall bulbs indoors in pots. Click here for a printable guide on how to grow these bulbs.
Still need to seed your lawn? Hold on.
There’s a neat trick to get a lawn started in early spring; a dormant seed. If you dormant seed, you’ll get grass sooner in the spring than if you do a spring seeding.
Here’s how. Usually we recommend a dormant seed at early-November. It all depends on the weather. You want to wait to sow the seed until there is no chance for it to germinate this fall. It will then come up when the day length increases in the early spring under slushy snowfalls. There will be grass up and growing long before it’s dry enough for you to get out to prep and sow seed. So for now, plan on prepping the soil when it’s dry enough but waiting to seed until it’s cold enough.
Take time to protect trees & shrubs
If winter is coming to your neighborhood (Ha!) we have a few recommendations. Now’s the time to wrap young trees, set up stakes to fence shrubs browsed by rabbits or deer and have mulch on hand for tender perennials or those you know need protection each year.
Tree Wrap
Plan on using this every year until the bark on a tree is thick and tough. One way to remember this is to get your trees “dressed for Halloween and naked for April Fool’s Day.” The wrap will protect against critters eating or rubbing off the bark. If you use the white wrap it reflects the low-angle winter sun and helps prevent frost cracking. The wrap needs to be secured with something like duct tape.
White plastic tubes are a great way to protect your tree from any sort of mechanical damage in any season but they are not foolproof for winter protection. Take them off, wrap the trunk, and replace the plastic tube. Undress the tree the same way.
Rabbits, Deer & Shrubs
A hungry rabbit will eat anything, especially in winter. Deer can cause browsing damage in winter too. Although rabbit browsing will probably not kill your spirea and burning bush, the damage is noticeable and will set back the size of a plant. There are two ways to combat rabbit browsing in winter. First, use a good animal repellent. There are a number on the market and we carry a few. When applying liquids, they have to dry on, not freeze on so use them on warmer days. We suggest getting on as many layers of spray as possible before winter hits. You can also plan to fence in shrubs and to do that you will need to set posts in now while the ground is not frozen.
Mulching materials
If you have new perennials, tender plants or things like chrysanthemums that winter best with a covering of mulch, wait until the ground is frozen to undertake this task. Once they are frozen you want them to stay that way rather than thawing and freezing in cycles. Use marsh or grass hay or shredded (by the lawn mower) leaves as good mulch. Whole leaves tend to “book” together like paper and so the insulation quality is not great. Straw, too, forms a mat and does not insulate well.
Evergreens
Making sure evergreens get an inch of water a week in fall until the ground freezes is always the first step. Many evergreens do not need further protection over the winter. Where needed, you have two choices: wrap plants in burlap and/or spray on a winter protection product. If you use the spray, remember they need to dry on not freeze on and they should be applied when the plant is dormant so timing is critical.
Rhododendrons & Magnolia
The bud for next spring’s bloom is already on the tips of the branches. Again, water will help and something like Wilt Stop and/or wrapping will help keep that bud in tact and from drying out over the winter.
There’s so much to cover in this subject. Click here for a great protection guide from the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
When to start feeding pond fish
If your fish have been kept in the pond outdoors all winter hold off feeding them until they become quite active. Once the ice is off the pond and the water temperature has reached 45 degrees, fish will start to swim about and surface frequently. When this starts to happen, go ahead and start feeding fall/winter food with high carbohydrate levels so they regain their vigor for the season.
How to Plant Potatoes
Amend soil with all purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 3# per 100 square feet prior to planting. Plant anytime between early April and June 1 with harvest 2-4 months later. Cut seed potatoes and allow 2 to 3 eyes on a piece of a tuber. Allow the cut surface to dry for at least 2-3 hours or overnight. Plant the pieces 3 to 4” deep and 12-18” apart, with rows 24-30” apart. Potatoes tend to set tubers near the surface of the soil so add straw or other mulch under the vines as they grow to avoid sun-greening. You can also carefully harvest these potatoes without damaging the entire plant.
Harvest any time after the plant has died down. To harvest, use a spading fork and starting 2-feet from the center of the plant, carefully pry up the soil. Work your way in, sliding the tines under the tubers so they can be lifted without puncturing. Don’t wash the tubers for storage and keep in a dark cool place. If the soil is dry, you can delay harvest until later in the season.
Plan to rotate your potato crop each year, not returning to the same plot until after the third year. Keep potato on the same rotation schedule as pepper and tomato.
Early Vegetable Crops
As soon as you can work the soil, plant potatoes, onions, radish, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. While you’re at it, plant lettuce, spinach and cilantro but be ready to protect them from frost. One method is to use floating row covers which let sunlight and water in but not frost. They also warm the soil a bit and protect from insect damage.
Working with fruit crops in late winter
Go ahead and prune your fruit trees now. Also, take steps now to protect your fruit crops from insect and fungal damage. This is a two-step process but even if you just use the first you will get a big leap ahead of some perils. When daytime temperatures are above freezing, spray your fruit trees and shrubs with dormant oil spray. This oil acts to smother any insects or eggs overwintering in sheltered spots on plants.
After the oil is dry and if temperatures are above 40 degrees, spray on lime sulphur. You want to be upwind of this spray and, as always, whenever you spray wear protective clothing, gloves, shoes and eyewear. Lime sulphur (or you can use copper) will stop fungal problems from starting.
Lime sulphur will also help those of you plagued with powdery mildew on your ninebark, lilac and other ornamentals.
Use Seed Heat Mats
Specially-designed heat mats are used underneath seed starting trays to increase success in seed starting. With proper care, these reusable heat mats last for years and give excellent results. They are part of a seed starting system that should include artificial lighting for at least a 12 hour period each day, room heat and good air circulation. Always use seed starter mix for the best results. Learn more about seed starting.
Renewal Pruning
Improve the look of overgrown shrubs or get more flower and fruit by taking on this task with your shrubs this winter. Pick a sunny day and get outside so your garden will look better for years to come. Here’s a guide. This is also the time for tree pruning for some species. Click this University of Minnesota link for more information if it’s time to prune your tree.
Seed Starting
How about trying a Cardinal Vine to attract hummingbirds or a new color of Zinnias. Have you ever grown a hedge of Four o’Clocks? Interest in gardening for food is on the increase too. Although we would only encourage starting such plants as petunia, geranium and impatiens about now, why not select some new tomato and pepper varieties to try this season? Unless you want really large plants to transplant into the garden, hold off until March to start your warm season vegetables.
Of course if you need instruction and tips on how to start seeds or a vegetable or flower garden, stop in any time and get a lesson.