Feb 7. 2005

The mild weather early in the week gave us an opportunity to get out in the garden to do some scouting. Anytime there is a mild spell in the middle of winter it is a good idea to go out and check the landscape. Check trees and shrubs for storm damage. Any broken limbs should be pruned back. Inspect the bark at the base of trees and shrubs for rodent damage. If there are signs of gnawing, protect the plant from further damage with a screening of hardware cloth.

Snow cover is a perfect insulator for the crowns and roots of most of our garden plants. However prolonged snow cover in our area usually leads to more deer damage. With most of the ground covered deer will graze on whatever they can to survive. Check the landscape carefully for deer damage. You may need to set up deer netting on plants previously ignored by the deer. Re-apply repellents on a mild day. Most of these products spread more evenly when the temperature is 40 degrees or above. The second application will give ensured protection through the remainder of winter.

Anti-desiccants applied to broad-leaved evergreens last fall may be wearing a little thin. A second application sprayed on a mild day will help those plants through the windy month of March. The dieback that shows up in April is usually the result of rapid moisture loss during windy storms in March. Anti-desiccants also need to be applied at 40 degrees or above to cover evenly.

Any perennial plants that you discover have heaved out of the ground can be re-set. Simply push them gently back into the ground with your foot. Perennials in their first season or two in the garden are more prone to heaving. Once their roots become well established the tendency reduces.

Back inside the house there are likely indoor plants to tend to. Most of the holiday plants will be finished blooming soon. If you are lucky enough to have a poinsettia still showing color, keep it in bright light and away from cold drafts and heat vents. Eventually the red bracts will drop and new green growth will start. Poinsettias make attractive houseplants and will grow outside during the frost-free months. They can get quite large before the next holiday season.

Paperwhites forced into bloom for the holidays should be thrown out-they won’t bloom again. Amaryllis blooms may still be at peak bloom. Some varieties send up more than one flower spike. Once the flowers are finished, the stalk can be cut away. Keep the foliage growing, caring for it as any other houseplant. Amaryllis can be kept for many years, re-blooming each winter after a rest period in the fall.

If you are over-wintering any summer annuals indoors now is a good time to prune them. Cut them back and in no time they will start a new flush of growth. Pruning will prevent the plants from getting too leggy. When the warm weather returns you will have a healthy specimen to plant outside in the garden or a container.

In February various colorful flowering plants show up for sale in stores. Azaleas, primroses and kalanchoes are some of the favorites. Blooming azaleas in pots for indoor color are happiest in cool rooms. A daytime temperature of 60 degrees, nighttime 50 degrees is preferred. Select the coolest room in your house and provide bright light. Some of the azalea varieties used may be hardy outside but many are not. Hardy varieties can be planted in the garden later in the spring.

Primroses come in a wide array of colors. With care they will bloom for many weeks indoors, developing new flower buds continuously. Set them in a sunny window and water when the top inch of soil is dry. Over-watering and neglect will weaken the plant.

Kalanchoes are an easy succulent plant with bright colored flowers. Available even in the supermarket floral department. Look for a new series under the brand name Calandiva. The series has flowers that resemble tiny roses, attractive even in the bud stage. They are available in a wide range of colors including red, purple, orange, white and many shades of pink. Besides the beautiful colors, the flowers last for at least six weeks.

Beth Nardone, botanist, is a resident of Hillsborough and is the Nursery Manager at the Belle Mead Co-Op.  Questions and comments can be sent to bethtanical@patmedia.net