Lawns
Warm Season Grasses – Bermuda and Zoysia
January – Late March: Cut grass very low to about 2 inches high and bag the clippings to help bring turf out of dormancy. Apply a pre-emergent in mid-February to control the annual spring weeds. Re-apply the pre-emergent in 8-10 weeks.
Perennials
- Start stratifying perennial seeds that need this treatment.
- Late plantings of spring flowering bulbs. For example, Dutch bulbs will flower if planted now.
- Check stored bulbs and discard rotten ones. Reminder: If keeping bulbs year to year that can’t remain in the ground, they should be stored in a dark, dry location in a paper bag.
- Make indoor bulb plantings for decoration, such as amaryllis.
- Plant roses. Consider old-fashioned and disease-tolerant cultivars.
- Leave stalks and hollow stems for overwintering beneficial insects. If you must clean up leaves, try to find a location in a bed where they can mulch down instead of bagging and removing them. This is where many pollinators and fireflies overwinter.
Shrubs and Trees
- Plant shrubs and trees.
- Prune damaged, diseased, or rubbing branches.
Fruits and vegetables
- Make plans for the coming season’s garden. Rotate your crops to result in the healthiest produce yield. Make sure their new location still matches the sun exposure needed for success.
- Start seed crops indoors for late winter planting.
- If growing cover crops, mow over or turn late this month.
Miscellaneous
- Be careful not to overwater indoor houseplants as water needs are typically lower this time of year, even indoors.
- Interested in growing plants further? Look into building structures such as cold frames…Start carpentry projects like cold frames, trellises, and indoor lighting set-ups if desired. Sometimes smaller is better and you may in return get fewer weeds and insects with more produce.
- If interested in growing from seed, collect all of your seed starting materials together so you’ll be ready to go. You will need lights, heat mats, a sterile potting medium, and your preferred pot type. Purchase any seeds needed that weren’t saved from the previous season.
- Wash and sterilize seed-starting containers.
- Check all house plants closely for insect infestations.
- If you aren’t a carpenter, now is a good time to try a straw bale cold-frame