Winter Garden Checklist

Late winter is a good time to start making plans for your yard and garden.  Use this time wisely; by making a checklist for all of your garden projects.  Some days in January and February may be warm and I like to use this time to  clean the gardens so they will be ready for planting in spring. Gardening in late winter helps to keep your yard and gardens organized.

In the past I was not for garden checklist.  Last year I did a garden checklist for the fall season and found that it was a good way to stay focused.  The checklist broke down all of the projects that needed to be done and I did not become overwhelmed with the work load.  

 A checklist tells you when to do the task and how to do it from cleaning up the garden beds, pruning the shrubs and sowing the seeds indoors.   

In late winter I make a point to watch the weather forecast.  If there is a warm day then I will plan my work day based on the project on my checklist.  By getting a head start in the yard and garden it enables me to enjoy my flower gardens when spring comes instead of doing cleanup work. 

Late Winter Garden Checklist:

• Fertilize spring bulbs
• Prune summer blooming perennial shrubs
• Prune dormant deciduous vines, fruit and shade trees
• Remove debris from the gardens and turn over the soil, get the gardens ready for planting
• Plan my summer garden for vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers
• Buy seeds and bare root fruit, roses, shrubs and vines
• Start seeds indoors 

Garden Tips for Growing Coneflowers

Grow Echinacea coneflowers and fill your yard with colorful blooms midsummer through fall.  Coneflowers are one of the easiest and most rewarding native plants, hardy almost everywhere in poor soil and drought tolerant.

Many gardeners grow coneflowers in a prairie or cottage garden with companion flowers daylily, black-eyed Susan, daisy, zinnia, catmint, and bee balm.  The flowers will attract butterflies, honeybees, hummingbirds, all summer long and in the fall songbirds arrive to forage on the big, seeds.

Garden Design

Design your coneflower garden in early spring. Decide on the color scheme and the type of garden. Use colored pencils to indicate the types of flowers. This garden design will help you when you plant your flowers.  Consider adding a water feature; birdbath or fountain as well as a garden bench so you can enjoy this visually appealing wildlife garden.

Where to Plant

Select a garden site that has eight hours of direct sun and well-drained soil.  Prepare the garden site by removing grass, weeds, and rocks. Loosen the soil with a tiller or shovel. Amend the soil with three inches of compost. For a mass planting or prairie garden, dig a trench that is as deep and wide as the nursery container. 

How to Plant 

Remove the flower from the nursery container. Set the container on its side and tap lightly on the side to loosen the soil, roll the container to the other side and tap again.  When the soil is loose gently, remove the plant from the container.  Gently shake the excess dirt from the roots and loosen the entwined roots from the root ball.  

Set the plant in the hole and place the roots on the soil so that they will grow outward. Fill in the hole with soil and firm the soil around the stem of the plant. Water the transplants well. To allow for growth, leave a space of twelve inches in-between plants.

Caring for Flowers

1. Feed the plants with water-based fertilizer that is formulated for flowers.  Follow the direction on the fertilizers for the amounts needed for your garden size.   
2. Apply two-inches of pine needles, dried grass clippings or wood bark chips.   The natural mulch will enrich the soil and aid in keeping the soil evenly moist. 
3. Cut back flowers after a hard frost and apply two inches of natural mulch to your garden bed.
4. Remove the mulch in spring and fertilize with all-purpose (the flower formula), I use miracle-gro.  
5. Watch for new growth.  If flowers come in thick and appear overcrowded, divide the clumps and transplant in spring.

Tips

• Mature plants are drought tolerant.
• During blooming season, remove spent blooms to encourage more flowers.
• Coneflowers will tolerate some partial shade in the heat the day.
• Water transplants daily until roots are established. Then water as needed, or a couple times a week.
• Weed the garden monthly to stop weeds from competing with flowers for nutrients.
• Leave seedheads to provide food for songbirds.

• Grow  in USDA zones 3-9. 

Warnings:

• Overcrowded coneflowers will attract powdery mildew.
• Check your garden for the Japanese beetle.  Treat garden pests by dusting with Diatomaceous earth food grade.
• Buy Coneflowers live plants not seeds at Brecks.nursery.com or Greenwoodnursery.com

 

Astilbe Growing Tips

Astilbe is a low-maintenance tall and feathery flowering plant that will add color and texture to your shade garden. This shade perennial plant has eye-appealing flowers that bloom June through July and in the fall the plumes will add interest to your yard and garden. If you enjoy ornamental grasses then plant the astilbe close to your outdoor living space so you can enjoy viewing this interesting plant.

Photographs of astilbe gardens.

Astilbe and Hosta plants

 Planting and Growing Astilbe

Before you can grow the astilbe you need to decide on the area in your yard that will accommodate the plant.  It is best to choose a section that provides ample room otherwise you will be transplanting often to prevent overcrowding.  When fully grown the plant will be 6 to 40 inches in height and 18 to 30 inches wide.

Decide on the design of your astilbe garden; will you be growing this plant in masses or with other shade-loving plants; fern, lily of the valley, ladies mantle, or hostas? 

What colors will work well with your garden?  The flowers come in a variety of colors; white, magenta pink, lavender, and red. 

Clear the growing site by removing the grass, weeds, and debris.  For massive plantings, it is best to use your tiller to break up the soil.  Break up the clumps of the soil so that the soil is a fine texture.  Dig a hole in the soil that is the same depth as the nursery container. 

Gently remove the plant from the container by setting the container on its side and rolling it back and forth, tap gently on the side of the container to loosen the soil and allow you to remove the plant easily.

Loosen the roots if they are growing in a ball.  Shake the soil away from the roots (gently) before planting.  Set the plant in the center of the hole with roots facing outward.  Backfill the hole with soil mixed with compost or manure.  Water well.  Apply pine needles or chipped wood mulch around the stem of the plant.  

If you are planting more than one then allow two feet in between the plants.

Keep the soil moist to moderate but not dry. Set up a drip line or soaking hose and water deeply every few days during the summer months. It is better to water the plants with one inch of water every week rather than water lightly daily.   Continue to water into the autumn especially if the season is dry.  Keeping the soil moist will prevent plant stress. 

After a hard frost prune back your plants and cover them with an organic mulch; pine needles, leaf mulch, or wood chips.

View this video to learn more about pruning astilbe:

 

Tips:

Astilbe is a perennial that is hardy to 25F – 32 C

Grows best in zone 4 to 8

Plant in spring after the threat of hard frost has passed and in the autumn six weeks before the end-of-season frost.

Watch your plants for weak blooms as this is a sign that the garden is overcrowded.  Divide astilbe and transplant every four to five years.

Every spring apply a spring fertilizer as soon as the plant starts to grow.  If your spring is dry then water to keep the soil evenly moist, the article will be healthy as long as the soil does not dry out.