Gardening Tips for February for Fort Sumner, NM

Southwest Region

• Most bare-rooted trees and shrubs as well as bare-rooted deciduous fruit trees can be planted now.
• Do not prune spring-flowering plants until after they bloom. When pruning, never remove more than 1/4 of the total plant.
• Finish pruning your roses. Begin fertilizing.
• You can begin planting perennial garden crops, such as blueberries, blackberries, and grapes.
• Continue to sow cool-season vegetable seeds, such as beets, carrots, cabbage, peas, and potatoes. Continue to transplant artichokes, asparagus, chard, lettuce, and onions.
• Finish pruning fruit trees and grapes this month; fertilize deciduous fruit trees with nitrogen when they leaf out; prune frost-sensitive citrus after spring growth.
• Many insects can be found in the garden during the winter months. To help control them, spray your plants with a dormant horticulture oil.
• Control the weeds in your garden while they are young and tender, or before they sprout. Remove weeds before they seed.
• Water lawns and gardens deeply once to twice a week, depending on the amount of rain. Do not overwater.
• Watch out for frost damage. Protect trees and plants if temperatures drop to the 20s for more than an hour.