Rocky Mountain Gardener's February Checklist

February brings visibly more times and the promise of spring. Do not be fooled, though — plenty of snow and freezing temperatures are yet to come to the Rocky Mountains and other cold areas. On these serene, sunny days, get outside and analyze your trees and shrubs. The care you give them now will pay off for several years. On stormy days you can plot and dream indoors, and receive your seeds prepared for the planting season ahead. It’ll be here before you know it!

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Pendleton Design Management

Prune deciduous shrubs and trees now while it’s easy to see the branching construction. Remove any dead or diseased branches and some which are crossed. Lightly shape the plant type — only as needed — by cutting one branch at one time with the proper instrument: loppers, pruners or saw.

Older shrubs may benefit from renewal . Eliminate one-fifth of the oldest, thickest stalks at ground level. Next year another next could be removed, etc. Removing the whole stem can remove any buildup of scale or borer insect damage, and provide more light into younger, vigorous expansion.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Eliminate tree branches to allow more sunlight to the center of the plant to enhance flower and fruit production. You can also use this technique to make a more sculptural tree shape or expose and frame an opinion.

Andrew Renn

Fruit trees and grapevines could be pruned now too. Make decent use of walls or trellises in small gardens by creating plants into a level espalier form.

Paintbox Garden

Use a dormant oil spray trees and shrubs to smother and kill the larvae or eggs of insect pests such as scale, aphids, mites and leaf rollers. Horticultural oil is a refined oil product — mineral oil. It’s low risk for humans and desired insect species, making it a treatment option that works nicely with biological insect controls.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Some plants, such as junipers, dwarf Alberta spruces, Japanese maples and redbuds, are sensitive to horticultural oils, so read and follow the manufacturer’s tag. Do not apply dormant oil once the temperature is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Strategy for seed period. Your mailbox may be filled with seed catalogs now, tempting you with lovely vegetables and flowers to buy. Among the joys of gardening is trying new things, but if your goal is to plant clever, then the upcoming thoughts may be helpful.

Type through your existing stash of seeds. If they have been stored in dry, cool conditions in an airtight container, then they could be nice to use this year.
Cucumber, lettuce, melon and lettuce seeds can last five to six years.Seeds for legumes, peas, beets, carrots, eggplant, squash and tomatoes might be workable for three to four years.The shortest-lived seeds include those for corn, onions, leeks, parsnips and peppers.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Do a germination test to ensure your old seeds are well worth putting.
Put 10 seeds onto a damp paper towel and fold or roll it to enclose the seeds.Put the seeds and towel in a plastic sandwich bag that is tagged with the date and the name of the seed collection. Seal the bag.Leave it in room temperature for 2 to 10 days.Count the amount of seeds which sprout and assess the germination level:10 = 100 percent; perfect germination9 = excellent8 = good6 or 2 = poor5 or not ] toss them out!

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

An additional way to conserve in your seed funds is by growing foods your family likes to eat or which boost your favorite cuisines. This might sound simplistic, but it’s easy to get carried away by amazing photography and mouthwatering descriptions.

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