Draw up your garden plans – this is the time to dream and scheme!
Winter pruning on a sunny day can give life and bloom to neglected or overgrown shrubs. However, don’t prune spring-blooming plants like forsythia, azaleas or rhododendron as you will be cutting off the coming blooms.
Holiday plants like poinsettia, amaryllis and Christmas cactus will last longer in cool temperatures. Feed poinsettias with a water soluble fertilizer (20-20-20) whenever the soil dries out.
Make friends with the birds…Put out Oliger’s Birdseed and Pine Tree Farms Suet Cakes.
Heavy snow and ice can damage evergreens and birches. Gently brush off shrubs and prop up leaning birches if necessary.
Spray houseplants with Bonide Insecticidal Soap if spider mites or mealy bugs are present.
Spray shrubs and trees with Deer Stopper II, if deer are destroying them.
Rotate your houseplants a half-turn every other week to expose foliage to improved light conditions and eliminate bending.
Start seeds indoors for early spring planting. Use a Hydrofarm Seedling Heat Mat to grow bigger, healthier starts.
Fertilize new seedlings with Neptune’s Harvest Fertilizers.
