Gardening This Weekend: February 6, 2025
It looks our brief escapes into warm weather may suffer a setback next week across much of the state. In that light, here are the things you’ll want to get done as soon as you can.
PLANT
• Transplanting of trees and shrubs that need to find new homes in your landscape should be completed as soon as convenient. They must be moved while dormant.
• Frost-tolerant annuals, including petunias, pinks, snaps, primulas, wallflowers, stocks, Iceland poppies, English daisies, larkspurs, cyclamen, sweet alyssum and others. Be prepared to cover them with frost cloth if temperatures drop below freezing.
• Bare-root fruit and pecan trees, grape vines and bramble berries immediately.
• Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower) from potted transplants. Do so immediately in South Texas. Now through mid-month in North Central Texas. Late in month farther north.
• Leafy and root vegetables now in South Texas, including lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, radishes, kale. Wait 2-3 weeks in North Central Texas.
• Irish potatoes from eyes now in South Texas, mid-month in North Central Texas, and later in month farther north. Cut “certified seed potatoes” from the nursery or feed store so that each piece has several eyes, or buds. Let the cut pieces air-dry for a couple of days before you plant them.
PRUNE
• Grape vines to remove up to 85 percent of their cane growth. That will result in fewer clusters, but of far greater quality.
• Peach and plum trees immediately – before they come into bud and bloom (hopefully you’re not too late). Your goal is to remove strongly vertical shoots so you can encourage stronger horizontal branching.
• Never top crape myrtles. (I hope I haven’t caught you too late!) Topping ruins their natural growth forms forever. However, if they have branches that need to be removed entirely, this is the time to do so.
• Bush roses by 50 percent. Each cut should be just above a bud that faces outward from the center of the plant. Be certain that your plants do not have rose rosette virus before you start pruning. (LLLLLSee related storyLLLLL this issue.)
NNNNNGRETCHEN: please link to rose rosette story I’ll be sending later today.
FERTILIZE
• Pansies, pinks, snapdragons and other cool-season annual flowers with a high-nitrogen food to give them a boost for the warming weather ahead. Water-soluble types give quickest results.
• Ryegrass and fescue with high-quality, all-nitrogen lawn fertilizer. Wait until mid-spring to feed warm-season grasses.
• Apply high-phosphate liquid root stimulator to newly transplanted trees and shrubs. Your independent nursery professional will have a couple of brands.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Broadleafed weedkiller spray (containing 2,4-D) will kill clover, dandelions, chickweed, plantain and other non-grassy weeds. Spray before weeds start blooming and going to seed. Read and follow label directions.
• Start spring fruit tree spray program soon. First applications will come when trees are in full flower bud, but before buds actually open.
• Application time for spring pre-emergents to fight crabgrass and grassburs are approaching (rapidly in South Texas). The recommendation is for home gardeners to apply their first round of granules two weeks prior to the average date of last killing freeze for their city or county. (Your smart phone can probably give you that date with a simple question asked of Siri or Alexa.) Apply Dimension, Halts, or Balan around that date and repeat the application 90 days later as a “booster shot.”
• Annual bluegrass and other winter grasses cannot be sprayed at this point. Mark the calendar to apply pre-emergent granules the first week of September to prevent them next time around.