Gardening Calendar

January

• Wash the dust off houseplant leaves on a regular basis.
• Allow tap water to warm to room temperature before using on houseplants.
• Remove spent flowers from Amaryllis after blooming and keep soil moist.
• Brush heavy snow from trees and shrubs.
• Prune limbs damaged by snow or ice to prevent tearing.
• Allow ice to melt naturally from plants to reduce injury.
• Avoid foot traffic on frozen lawns.
• Hang cakes of suet in trees to attract insect-hunting woodpeckers.
• Gain traction on icy paths using sand, birdseed, sawdust or vermiculite.
• Use Christmas tree boughs to mulch perennial gardens.

February

• Water evergreens if the soil is dry and unfrozen.
• Sow celery and celeriac seeds indoors now.
• Start tuberous begonias indoors now.
• Sow seeds of broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage indoors now.
• Inspect fruit trees for caterpillar egg masses.
• Prune grapes and bramble fruits now.
• Begin pruning fruit trees.
• Fertilize established fruit trees once frost leaves the ground.
• Begin to fertilize houseplants as they show signs of new growth.
• Encourage birds to nest in your yard by providing water and birdhouses.

March

• Clean garden beds and remove all weeds and dead foliage.
• Plant trees, shrubs and perennials as soon as they arrive at local nurseries.
• Clean and destroy old Iris foliage to control Iris borer before new growth begins.
• Sow hardy annual seeds, such as larkspur, directly into the garden. 
• Prune trees before new growth appears.
• Divide summer and fall blooming perennials.
• Cut ornamental grasses to the ground just as new growth begins.
• Plant pansies and toadflax outdoors now.
• Mow lawns to remove old growth before new growth begins.
• Overseed thin spots and bare lawn patches now.
• Test soil texture by forming a ball that crumbles to ensure good working soil.
• Fertilize the garden as the soil is prepared for planting.
• Plant peas, lettuce, radishes, Irish potatoes, spinach and onion seeds outside.
• Set out broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower transplants into the garden.
• Plant beets, carrots, parsley and parsnip seeds outdoors.
• Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants indoors.
• Prune peaches and nectarines just before they bloom.
• Set up nesting boxes for bluebirds.
• Watch for the fuzzy blooms of the pussy willow.

April

• Choose compact, bushy bedding plants that have not begun to flower.
• Transplant hardy annuals outdoors when crabapples are in bloom.
• Fertilize established roses once the new growth is two inches long.
• Examine shrubs for winter injury, prune all dead and weakened wood. 
• Remove winter mulches, prune, remove deadwood, and lightly cultivate roses.
• Do not prune boxwoods before April 15.
• Break the rims off peat pots when transplanting seedlings.
• Plant past-blooming Easter lily bulbs outdoors 2 to 3 inches deep in the soil.
• Plant summer bulbs, such as caladiums and gladiolus, at 2-week intervals.
• Top-dress low spots and finish over-seeding thin or bare patches of lawn.
• Aerate turf if thatch is heavy or the soil is compacted.
• Apply crabgrass preventers before April 15.
• Complete sowing seeds of all cool-season vegetables.
• Mount a rain gauge on a post near the garden to track precipitation.
• Transfer plants started indoors to cold frames before transplanting into the garden.
• Prune spring flowering ornamentals after they finish blooming.
• Mow ground covers at highest setting to remove winter burn. Fertilize and water.
• Prune peaches and nectarines now.

May

• Pinch azaleas and rhododendron blossoms as they fade.
• Fertilize azaleas after bloom with a formulation that has an acid reaction.
• Plant hardy water lilies in tubs or garden pools.
• Removing spring bulb foliage early may decrease next year’s flower production.
• Continue to monitor pines for sawfly activity on new shoots.
• Plant gladiolus bulbs, at two-week intervals, as the ground warms.
• Treat scale crawlers on pines and euonymus at this time.
• Plant summer bulbs such as caladiums, dahlias, cannas, elephant ears.
• Begin planting warm season annuals.
• Fertilize annuals at regular intervals.
• Divide or move bulbs as the foliage dies.
• Pinch back mums to promote bushy growth.
• Watch for sod worms emerging.
• Grow lettuce under screening material to slow bolting and extend harvest.
• Set out tomato plants as the soil warms.
• Plant sweet corn as soon as white oak leaves are as big as squirrel ears.
• Thin plantings of carrots and beets to prevent overcrowding.
• Mulch blueberries with pine needles or saw dust.
• Prune unwanted shoots as they appear on fruit trees.
• Attract pest eating birds to garden by providing good nesting habitats.
• Watch for fireflies, important predators, on warm nights.