Transitioning into Spring Vegetable Garden: There is still time to plant seeds indoors for warm season vegetables. You won’t get the prize for the earliest crop though. Outdoor light intensity and day length is increasing but for healthy, stocky seedlings use fluorescent or grow lights to provide 16-18 hours of light. Plants should be ready to plant out in April. So far, the winter has been mild but bear in mind that there is still a still a possibility of frost and freezing weather. For the Charleston area, outside of downtown, there is a still a 50% chance of frost on or after March 18th and a 10% chance on April 6th. If you live in the downtown area, buildings and infrastructure help give a much warmer micro-climate. The 50% chance of frost of date February 17th has already passed, and the 10% chance date is March 14th. So, unless you have a well-protected garden spot or use frost cloth for protection, hold off on planting your spring vegetable garden until it’s safe. By mid-March many vegetables can be seeded directly into the garden soil. For exact dates for transplanting and seeding consult the planting chart in Table 3 of Clemson’s HGIC factsheet, Planning a Garden: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/planning-a-garden/ Lawns: It’s still not time to fertilize warm-season grasses (Bermudagrass, centipede, zoysia, St. Augustine) but there is still time to put out a pre-emergent herbicide for warm-season annual weeds if you haven’t already. It’s best to make the application when air temperatures have reached 65°-70° F for four consecutive days. We had plenty of such days in February and will have more in March. Try to time the application for when rain is forecasted during the following 48 hours. If warm season annual weeds have been a serious problem in the past, you may need to make a second application 9 weeks after the first so be sure to keep a record of applications. It’s best to choose a pre-emergent herbicide based on your most problematic weed since not all herbicides work on all weeds equally. So be sure to correctly identify your weeds. For more information on managing weeds in the lawn please visit: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/managing-weeds-in-warm-season-lawns/ Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Hardy Perennials:
Now is the time to fertilize trees, shrubs and hardy perennials (if they are not surrounded by turf). For the most accurate fertilizer recommendations a soil sample should be submitted to Clemson’s Agricultural Services Laboratory. You can either take your sample to your county Extension office, bring it by the nursery or mail it directly to the lab. Spring is the busiest time of the year for the lab so expect delays on getting your results. The best time to submit samples is during fall and early winter months. Specific fertilizer recommendations will be in the results as well as liming recommendations. For more information on taking a soil sample please visit: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/soil-testing/ If you don’t soil test, use a complete fertilizer such as a 16-4-8, 12-6-6 or 12-4-8 formulation. For the sandy soils of the coastal area slow-release fertilizers work best. Clemson recommends that shrubs and trees receive 2 to 4 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of root spread area per year. Split applications work well so apply half of the recommendation now and the rest in early summer. Apply the fertilizer over the whole root spread area underneath the crown of the shrub or tree and out beyond the crown at ½ of the crown radius. For perennials, spread fertilizer away from the base of the plants over the root zone. Be sure to water fertilizer in well and off of any plants. If applying fertilizer over mulch more water may be needed to get the fertilizer into the soil under the mulch. For formulas to calculate actual needed amounts of fertilizer please visit: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/fertilizing-trees-shrubs/ Annuals: Winter flowering annuals should still look good if you have been keeping them watered, fertilized and dead-headed. By the end of this month though they may be struggling with warmer temperatures. Be planning now on your summer annual replacements and be prepared to take out still blooming winter annuals to give the summer ones a good start before temperatures soar. As always, be sure to try a new plant or new color combination to help jazz up your landscape. caring for the winter garden Vegetable Garden: There are many cool-season vegetables that can be planted outside starting this month including many brassicas, Irish potatoes, garden peas, lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots and onions. Warm-season vegetables may be started indoors. On average they are planted about six weeks before it is time to plant them outside in the garden. Use a sterile potting mix and sterile containers to avoid damping-off diseases. For healthy, stocky seedlings provide 16-18 hours of light. Fluorescent or grow lights should be used to supplement natural light. Place them 2-4 inches above the containers and move them upwards as the seedlings grow. Fruit Garden: Begin pruning fruit trees and muscadine vines and brambles if you didn’t do it in January. For trees start with apples and pears and then move on to peaches and plums. A dormant oil spray can be made for scale if you didn’t do it in January and temperatures are above 40°F and below 85°F. Blueberries can be thinned if plants are mature by cutting out the older, less productive branches at ground level. Lawns: Cool-season grasses can be fertilized this month. A total of 2-4 lbs. N/1000 ft² per year should be applied in split applications in the fall and late winter, so an application of 1-2 lbs. N/1000 ft² can be applied now. Do not fertilize warm-season grasses (Bermudagrass, centipede, zoysia, St. Augustine) yet. A preemergent herbicide for warm-season annual weeds can be applied starting late February if air temperatures have reached 65°-70° F for four consecutive days. On average, it is usually March 1 for the coastal area before this happens. A good way to time an application is to do it when forsythia is starting to bloom in your area. Also try to time the application for when rain is forecasted during the following 48 hours. If these weeds have been a serious problem in the past, you may need to make a second application 9 weeks after the first so be sure to keep a record of applications. For more information on managing weeds in the lawn please visit: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/managing-weeds-in-warm-season-lawns/ Ornamental Trees and Shrubs: A dormant oil spray can be made for scale if you didn’t do it in January and temperatures are above 40°F and below 85°F. Remember to treat at a time of day when the sun is not shining directly on the plant. Pruning can still be done on non-spring blooming plants now. For spring blooming plants, wait to prune after the plants have flowered. For a list of flowering shrubs and when to prune them please visit: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/pruning-shrubs/ Perennials: Hardy perennials can still be planted at this time. Start cleaning up winter damaged or dead foliage on the plants already in the garden. Perennial grasses and overgrown groundcovers, such as liriope, can also be cut back before new growth begins.
Annuals: For winter annuals keep up the maintenance recommended for January. Keep them watered, fertilized and dead-headed. Start planning what summer annuals you will plant. Try a combination of new and older, dependable varieties. Think about trying a new color combination in the garden and in your decorative pots. tips for winterizing the garden Ornamental Trees and Shrubs: Woody plants can benefit from a dormant or horticultural oil spray during the fall and winter months for numerous overwintering insect pests. Most important of these pests are scale insects and oil sprays are a very effective treatment. Various scale species can be commonly found on camellias, magnolia, holly, citrus, oleander, dogwoods and maples. Be sure to read the label on the container of the product that you use. The label will have a list of plants that are safe to treat. Oil sprays should be applied while air temperatures are between 45°F and 85°F. It is also best to treat at a time of day when the sun is not shining directly on the plant. Now is still a good time for planting hardy shrubs and trees if you didn’t get your planting done in the fall. Now is also a great time to reassess your landscape design while you can see the “bones” of the garden. If your garden is maturing you may realize that it has become too crowded and needs thinning-be disciplined and bold. Take out weak plants, remove ones that don’t fit the design, reduce the numbers of over-planted varieties and assess which ones may only need a good pruning. Use this opportunity to make room for plants for which you have been lusting! Pruning trees and shrubs can begin at the end of this month. The reasons for pruning are to remove old, diseased and dead wood to encourage new growth and flowering. Crossing branches that are rubbing each other should also be removed. Pruning should not remove more than one-third of the plant unless you are doing rejuvenation pruning. If a plant needs to be severely pruned on a regular basis because it is in the way seriously consider replacing it. For thorough information on pruning please visit the Clemson HGIC website: https://hgic.clemson.edu/hot-topic/the-art-and-science-of-pruning/ Perennials Hardy perennials can still be planted at this time. Many of them can also be divided and replanted at this time. Make sure that plants don’t stay out of the ground too long. Water in well after replanting. Be sure to try a new and exciting perennial in your planting. Annuals Be sure to keep your winter annuals watered and fertilized. Keeping pansies, violas and snapdragons dead-headed will improve their looks and flowering. If the cold has been severe they may be looking a little rough. They’ll look better as the weather improves but you can trim back any severely damaged parts. Lawns Continue to mow cool-season grasses. Fescue lawns should be mowed at 2-3 inches. Over-seeded annual ryegrass should be kept mowed at 1-2 inches. Hopefully a pre-emergent herbicide was applied in the fall. If not, you can spot treat broad-leaf weeds with an appropriate post-emergent herbicide. Fruit Garden Fruit trees should have been sprayed with a dormant oil in the fall to treat insect pests, especially scale. Another application can be made this month or next month while temperatures are between 45°F and 85°F. Be sure to get good spray coverage on all of the trunk as well as the branches. Remove old plant debris from under trees that can harbor pests. There’s still time to plant fruit trees, shrubs and vines if you didn’t get them all in the ground in the fall. Just be sure the soil is not too wet to be cultivated. Attempting to work wet soil will cause soil compaction. |
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