This Month in Your Garden

February 2006 >>>

February is usually the coldest month of the winter although everyone should have shrubs and bulbs that are poised to awaken given some warm sunshine. If snow falls brush this off overhanging branches of evergreens to minimise any potential damage. Get out to your local garden centre to buy some packets of seeds or some ready germinated seedlings to give you a hint of the promise of brighter things to come.

ORNAMENTAL GARDENING
What an exciting time when seeds are ready for sprouting and new green plants prove that spring, at last, is not far away. A visit to your local garden centre will lift your spirits, despite the cold weather. There you can expect to see a colourful display of ready-germinated seedlings such as petunia, busy lizzy, geranium and begonia. Buying seedlings at this stage saves a lot of heartache to those people who can't easily find the right sort of conditions for seed germination and takes away the risk of complete failure for novice gardeners.

You will find plenty of different varieties of flowering bedding in February, just because they take several months to grow from the seedling stage to flowering. Pots will contain between 12 and 50 seedlings, depending on variety while trays of individual plug plants are sold in trays of 12 or 16 seedlings. Transplant or "prick out" your seedlings as soon as possible and protect them from cold weather at all times.

The individual plantlets grown in small cells of material are really easy for any gardener to handle and look after. These 'plug' plants need to be transplanted into trays of potting compost immediately after purchase and then kept on a warm windowsill to grow into strong plants.

To give the seedlings the best start in life choose the best compost that is available. Millions of patio potterers know that Miracle-Gro composts promise outstanding results and this year the new packs of Miracle-Gro All Purpose Growing Compost promise to grow plant twice as big! That's because this potting compost contains 40 per cent more nutrients than ordinary multi-purpose composts and contains enough Miracle-Gro Plant Food to feed your seedlings for up to three months.

Use low cost seed trays: ideally ones which are divided into "cells", so each plug or seedling can be grown separately and roots do not intertwine. Fill the container with compost and press down gently to make a smooth surface. Push out the plugs from below using a pencil. Make the required number of holes depending on the number of plugs you have to plant. Hold each plant by its leaves and position in a hole firming the compost around it. Water the plants thoroughly and allow to drain. Keep the plants in a cool, light position on a windowsill away from frosts. Turn the trays around two or three times a week to stop the plants from growing lopsided.

As the plants grow they may need more room to spread out. Move into individual pots of fresh Levington Container & Hanging Basket Compost or Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Compost.

Out in the garden you should have a great display of snowdrops. The flowers may be tiny, but they are well worth the space. After a few years they will have multiplied to form a dense clump that pushes itself to the surface. When they have finished flowering but still 'in the green' they need dividing so that each bulb has a chance to develop into flowering size. Once the flowers have faded, dig up the clump and replant each bulb 8 cm (3in) apart. They move far better when they are in leaf so don't leave it too long.

TOPICAL TIP
If you are sowing seeds, use a compost that is designed just for that job, rather than a Multi-Purpose one. Products such as Levington Seed & Cutting Compost or Miracle-Gro Plug Plant Compost have just the right level of nutrients to ensure even the finest seeds have the best possible start in life.

SHRUBS AND TREES
Modern hybrid types of Camellia williamsii are very hardy in most gardens and are more free-flowering than older standards. Names to bear in mind include 'Bow Bells' a free-flowering open pink and 'Debbie' a dark pink double. These evergreens appreciate a lightly shaded position in soil that is not at all chalky. If you are not blessed with lime-free soil then the only alternative is to grow these ericaceous plants in pots on the patio. When planting up use Miracle-Gro Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron Compost. It's fortified with iron for rich green leaves and enriched with Miracle-Gro Plant Food that feeds for up to 3 months.

Flower buds will have formed last summer and should be ready to burst in February given some warm sunshine. Avoid placing potted camellias against an east facing wall that catches the early morning sun, as in this position the buds are more prone to damage. It's not the cold temperatures that do the damage, but the rapid change in temperature as early morning sun quickly warms the buds after severe overnight frosts. To keep the leaves dark green and the plant vigorous enough to form new buds remember to feed this and any other ericaceous plants every couple of weeks from March until July with Miracle-Gro Ericaceous Plant Food.

TOPICAL TIP
Birds will have eaten most of the berries and seeds found naturally in your garden. Now is the time to provide supplementary feeding that gives them life-saving energy in the depths of winter.

PATIO GARDENING
In February most of us pass the area by the front door more often than venture onto the patio. That's why I move attractive potted shrubs from back patio to beside the front door at this time of the year. I have a pot of evergreen conifer with a couple of trailing ivies that lives there throughout the winter and I supplement this with other plants when they are interesting. My favourite is sweet box (Sarcococca confusa) which carries insignificant creamy white flowers in January and February. They may be small flowers but they are highly perfumed and should be placed in a prominent position when in bloom.

Garden centres will have a good display of lilies which need planting up in pots and in the garden ready for summer display. They appreciate good drainage directly under the bulbs so plant carefully. Put a layer of Levington Container & Hanging Basket Compost in the bottom of the container and then a layer of gravel or sharp grit. Place the bulbs on top of this gravel and fill the container with more compost.

Keep dead-heading winter pansies and feed occasionally with Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food when the weather is mild.

TOPICAL TIP
Deadhead pansies throughout the year to ensure they produce new flowers during mild spells.

THE FRUIT GARDEN
Peaches and nectarines grown in pots against a south facing wall should produce some succulent fruits if they are well fed and watered throughout the summer. A high potash tomato fertilizer such as Tomorite is the plant food to choose.

Unfortunately peaches are susceptible to the fungal disease peach leaf curl which causes red blisters on the leaves which lead to early leaf fall and weakening of the tree. To prevent the disease entering the tree, spray the tree while it is outside with Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide in February when the buds start to swell.

The problem of fruit set is not one of hardiness - cold is not harmful in itself. The truth is that peaches flower very early and severe frosts will prevent fruitlets forming. To overcome this many gardeners move their peach trees into a greenhouse or conservatory once the buds are ready to burst to give them the protection they need.

Feed fruit trees that are planted in garden soil now so that they can draw nutrients from the soil as soon as they start flowering. Most of the available plant foods will have been washed away by winter rains and melting snow so give them a treat this year with a good dressing of a new fertilizer called Miracle-Gro Slow Release Rose & Shrub Food. The special mix of nutrients and added magnesium is designed to encourage roses and shrubs to flower and fruit profusely and have strong, healthy growth with darker green leaves. All the things you want from your fruit trees. One application in early spring will feed your plants for the whole season, releasing balance nutrients for up to 6 months, right up until harvest time.

Some people simply never feed their fruit trees and are amazed that they produce very little edible crop. Before suggesting that unproductive trees are cut down, it is worth giving the plant a final chance. Use a good few handfuls of Miracle-Gro Slow Release Rose & Shrub Food sprinkled under the spread of the branches and work this into to the soil surface. Only after you see the crop that a good feed can help to produce should you decide whether to give an unproductive fruit tree the chop.

TOPICAL TIP
Clear weeds from below the branches of fruit trees and dig over the soil surface to ensure winter rains and snow get down to the roots.

VEGETABLES
Buy some first early seed potatoes now from your local supplier choosing a variety for flavour such as Foremost or Duke of York. Place each tuber with rose end uppermost in egg boxes or a wooden tray. Keep them in a light and frost-free room so they develop sturdy green shoots. They will be ready for planting at the end of March and ready for digging from the end of June.

Towards the end of the month find a sunny site and plant out shallot bulbs. Add Osmocote or Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food along the row and work into the surface. Take out a narrow trench and space the shallot bulbs between 15 cm and 20 cm (6-8 in) apart. Half a kilo of bulbs will provide around 30 shallots that should multiply by a factor of 6 or 8, come harvest time in July or August.

TOPICAL TIP
Dig parsnips during a mild spell when the ground is frost-free and leave on the surface ready to take to the kitchen whenever required.

ALWAYS READ THE LABEL: USE PESTICIDES SAFELY

Information supplied by the Scotts Miracle Gro Company UK Ltd

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