Late Winter Gardening Chores submitted by Joe and Susan Noonan, Bexar County Master Gardeners
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Color
--Mid-February is rose pruning time (Valentine’s Day--remember?) Leave 4-6 pencil-width stems arranged around an open center. Reduce height to approximately 30 inches. Begin your insecticide and fungicide weekly sprays. Fertilize with rose food or slow-release lawn fertilizer.
--Fall-planted pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, stocks, alyssum and larkspur are spectacular in March. Fertilize in February with a slow-release lawn fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb. per 10 square feet of bed area.
--March is a great geranium month. Use them in morning sun locations.
--Leave the foliage on daffodils, Dutch iris and other low-chill bulbs until it turns brown. The green leaves are replenishing the bulbs for next year’s blooms.
--Containerized plants can still be put in the landscape. It is not too late to plant daylilies and irises if they are well rooted in containers.
--Wildflowers will begin blooming in March. Remember their seeds must be allowed to mature if you want new plants next year. The spring months in South Central Texas are best known for their Indian paintbrush, mountain laurel, wine cup, pink evening primrose, prairie verbena, horsemint and bluebonnets.
--Plant hibiscus, bougainvillea, mandevilla and allemande vines in containers for tropical color in March.
--Impatiens, fibrous begonias and coleus are favorites for summer shade. Plant after the last average freeze date in mid-March.
Shade Trees and Shrubs
--Prune trees and shrubs in February except red and live oaks. Live and red oaks can be pruned after June when the risk of oak wilt disease spread is lower. Paint all wounds on oak trees immediately to prevent oak wilt.
--Fertilize trees early in March if you missed the ideal time in February. February is also a good month to plant trees and shrubs. Fall and winter are better, but February still gives the root systems time to become established before the stress of summer sets in.
--Finish any pruning in March except for the early bloomers such as climbing roses, mountain laurel and ornamental fruits. Prune them after they lose the major flush of blooms.
--Use oak leaves for mulch in the gardens or add them to the compost pile.
--Remove browned tissues from Asian jasmine, liriope and mondograss. Reshape lanky nandinas by pruning the tallest one-third of canes back to within 2 inches of the ground. New shoots will fill in from beneath.
Turf Grass
--There is a lot to do for your lawn, but fertilizing is not one of them. Wait until April or May. Don’t use weed & feed products. All that is growing now is the weeds and there is no need to fertilize them is there? Grass is still dormant. Don’t waste water and fertilizer. You can, however, still aerate and top-dress. Spring weather and fall fertilization determine when grass greens up in the spring, not excessive watering or spring fertilization. We are still in a drought so follow SAWs water restrictions!
--”Scalp” the lawn in February to remove winter-killed stubble. Set the mower down one or two notches.
--February is a good time to apply pre-emergent herbicides to prevent warm weather weeds. Apply broadleaf killer on warm days to eliminate henbit, chickweed, dandelions, clover and non-grassy weeds.
--Tune up the lawnmower and be sure the blade is very sharp. Remember that dull blades tear the grass, sharp ones cut it.
--Check out the automatic lawn sprinkler system for leaks, broken pipes or heads, or wasteful misting.
--In heavily shaded parts of the landscape where grass is difficult to maintain, choose one of the well adapted ground cover plants such as English or Algerian ivy, Asian jasmine, or mondograss. March is a good month to plant drought-tolerant ground covers.
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