Horticulture February 2023 Newsletter
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Roses
Roses in Landscaping
Consider the height, growth habit (spreading, bushy, upright, tall, short), and color of the cultivar you have chosen. Most roses can be spaced 2 to 4 feet apart. Shrubs and old-fashioned roses should be 4 to 6 feet apart, and climbers along fences should be 8 to 10 feet apart. Most important, roses need good drainage and sunshine. Full sun is best for your roses, although six to eight hours is sufficient (preferably morning sun). Good drainage in your soil is a must. If your soil doesn’t drain well naturally, enhance its porosity by adding abundant organic matter or small pea gravel, or grow your roses in a rose bed. Soil pH should be 6 to 6.8. A soil test submitted to your county Extension agent will determine whether lime and fertilizer are needed to produce attractive roses on the site you have selected.
Planting
The most appropriate time to plant roses is early spring. Follow these planting steps. Dig the planting hole to accommodate roots and keep budded area at the soil line. This is usually 15 to 18 inches deep. Incorporate superphosphate into your soil (to pro-vide slowly available phosphorus) at a rate of three to four pounds per 100 square feet or one heaping tablespoon per plant. Spread out the roots of the rose plant over a cone of soil located in the center of the planting hole. Make sure the budded area is at the soil line. This prevents undesirable suckering from the. Add half the soil backfill and gently firm soil around roots with hands to ensure root-to-soil contact. Water as you add backfill. Fill the planting hole to within 1 to 1½ inches of the original soil surface. If tender roses are planted in the fall, mound compost around and over the plant to a height of 12 to 18 inches by Thanksgiving. Remove the protective mound in the spring (mid-April) after growth starts.
Care After Planting:
Watering and Fertilizing
Add water when the upper 1 to 2 inches of soil is dry. Thorough, deep watering is best. Overhead sprinkling is the most convenient, but wet foliage may promote disease. Drip irrigation systems that are easy to install, use water efficiently, and do not cause wet foliage. If you use overhead watering, water in the morning or early afternoon so foliage will be dry by evening. Fertilizers with an analysis such as 5-10-5 or 4-12-4 are commonly packaged as rose fertilizers; however, 8-8-8, 10-10-10, 12-12-12, or other garden fertilizers may be used. In a rose bed, apply about one fourth of a cup of 12-12-12 (or correct amount of other fertilizer analyses) per bush. Spread fertilizer evenly and scratch it into the soil surface. Application should be made to wet soils, before rain or watering. Fertilize first in spring after danger of frost is past and pruning is completed. Then fertilize every four to six weeks until early August. Shrubs that bloom once should be fed only in mid-April. Pruning Spring Pruning Remove all dead wood and any canes that are diseased, broken, injured in any way, or cross through the center of the plant or rub other branches. Also remove suckers from the rootstock and thin, weak growth. Do not prune healthy shoots of climbers until after flowering. All cuts should be clean and smooth. Place a drop of white glue (e.g., Elmer’s) on top of each cut stem that is larger than one-quarter of an inch. Glue helps reduce borer infestation into the cane.
Additional Summer Pruning
Continue pruning during the growing season to remove spindly shoots, suckers, diseased stems, insect-ridden areas, and other types of worthless wood. Summer pruning is as important as initial spring pruning. Prune climbers after bloom. Remove one or two old canes, thin dense growth, and cut back remaining canes to keep the plant within bounds.
Roses
Mulching
Apply 2 to 3 inches of aged sawdust, wood bark, or other organic ma-terials. Placing a few sheets of newspaper un-der the mulch increases the ef-fects of mulching. Don’t place mulch against the stem; keep it about 6 inches away.
Cutting and Disbud-ding:
Disbudding
Remove axil buds on hybrid teas to increase the vigor of one main flower stem. Axil buds of floribun-das and grandifloras generally are not disbudded.
Dead Heading
Try to dead head twice a week. Carefully cut to an outside-facing, five-leaflet leaf from the top of the plant. You want to keep the bush at a height where flowers can be appreciated. Discontinue dead heading in mid-September to allow bushes to store energy for winter. Some shrubs, old-fashioned roses, and climbing roses bloom only once. Since flower removal will not encourage new flowers to form, spent blooms need not be re-moved. Red to orange rose hips form after flowers fade, and these can be harvested for jams, teas, etc., or left for birds.
Cutting Rose Flowers
Allow at least two five-leaflet leaves to remain on the new shoot when you cut a rose. Future stems will arise from buds in axils of remaining leaves.
Encouraging Healthy Plants
Do not allow newly planted or weak roses or stems to flower profusely early in the season. Remove flower buds along with the stem down to the first or second five leaflet leaf when the bud is less than the size of a pea until the fall of the first season. Sacrifice a few blossoms to establish a healthy plant.
Source: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id118/id118.pdf
Gardening in February
Ornamentals
Water evergreens if the soil is dry and unfrozen.
Inspect summer bulbs in storage to be sure none are drying out. Discard any that show signs of rot.
Take geranium cuttings now. Keep the foliage dry to avoid leaf and stem diseases.
Sow seeds of larkspur, sweet peas, Shirley poppies and snapdragons where they are to grow out-doors now. To bloom best, these plants must sprout and begin growth well before warm weather ar-rives.
Seeds of slow-growing annuals like ageratum, verbena, petunias, geraniums, coleus, impatiens and salvia may be started indoors now.
Dormant sprays can be applied to ornamental trees and shrubs now. Do this on a mild day while temperatures are above freezing.
Start tuberous begonias indoors now. "Non-stop" varieties perform well in this climate.
Vegetables
Season extending devices such as cold frames, hot beds, cloches and floating row covers will allow for an early start to the growing season.
Start onion seeds indoors now.
Run a germination test on seeds stored from previous years to see if they will still sprout.
Don't work garden soils if they are wet. Squeeze a handful of soil. It should form a ball that will crum-ble easily. If it is sticky, allow the soil to dry further before tilling or spading.
Sow celery and celeriac seeds indoors now.
Sow seeds of broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage indoors now for transplanting into the garden later this spring.
If soil conditions allow, take a chance sowing peas, lettuce, spinach and radish. If the weather oblig-es, you will be rewarded with extra early harvests.
Fruits
Inspect fruit trees for tent caterpillar egg masses. Eggs appear as dark brown or gray collars that encircle small twigs. Destroy by pruning or scratching off with your thumbnail.
Collect scion wood now for grafting of fruit trees later in spring. Wrap bundled scions with plastic and store them in the refrigerator.
Grapes and bramble fruits may be pruned now.
Begin pruning fruit trees. Start with apples and pears first. Peaches and nectarines should be pruned just before they bloom.
When pruning diseased branches, sterilize tools with a one part bleach, nine parts water solution in between cuts. Dry your tools at day's end and rub them lightly with oil to prevent rusting.
Established fruit trees can be fertilized once frost leaves the ground. Use about one-half pound of 12-12-12 per tree, per year of age, up to a maximum of 10 pounds fertilizer per tree. Broadcast fertiliz-ers over the root zone staying at least one foot from the tree trunk.
Miscellaneous
To avoid injury to lawns, keep foot traffic to a minimum when soils are wet or frozen.
When sowing seeds indoors, be sure to use sterile soil mediums to prevent diseases. As soon as seeds sprout, provide ample light to encourage stocky growth.
Repot any root-bound house plants now before vigorous growth occurs. Choose a new container that is only 1 or 2 inches larger in diameter than the old pot.
To extend the vase life of cut flowers you should: 1. - Recut stems underwater with a sharp knife. 2. - Remove any stem foliage that would be underwater. 3. - Use a commercial flower preservative. 4. - Display flowers in a cool spot, away from direct sunlight.
Now is a good time to learn to identify trees by their winter twigs and buds.
Branches of pussy willow, quince, crabapple, forsythia, pear and flowering cherry may be forced in-doors. Place cut stems in a vase of water and change the water every 4 days.
Watch for squirrels feeding on the tender, swollen buds of Elms, Hickories, Oaks and other trees as spring approaches.
Maple sugaring time is here! Freezing nights and mild days make the sap flow.
Begin to fertilize house plants as they show signs of new growth. Plants that are still resting should receive no fertilizers yet.
Now is a good time to apply appropriate sprays for the control of lawn weeds such as chickweed and dandelion.
Tall and leggy house plants such as dracaena, dieffenbachia and rubber plants may be air layered now.
Save grape vine prunings for making into attractive wreaths and other craft objects.
Late winter storms often bury birds' natural food supplies and a well stocked feeding station will pro-vide a life-giving haven for our feathered friends.
Encourage birds to nest in your yard by providing water and by putting up bird houses. Planting suit-able shrubs, trees, vines and evergreens will provide wild food sources and nesting habitat.
Source: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/gardening-by-month/february
