Winter’s Last-Minute Chores
February offers a last chance to do many winter tasks. Plant bare-root fruit trees, roses and vegetables before they begin to leaf out. Take advantage of the lower prices now; otherwise, you’ll have to wait until canned-up plants are ready, around April. If you have tulips in the refrigerator or daffodils or other spring-flowering bulbs, put them in the ground as soon as possible. Plant azaleas and camellias while their color can still be seen. Do any dormant-period spraying before the tender, easily damaged new growth appears. There’s still time to put in a spring garden from flats, but it will bloom later than it would have had it been planted in the fall. For summer planting, wait until March, or until there is no chance of frost. It is getting late, but deciduous shrubs, trees and roses can still be pruned. However, leave any plants susceptible to frost damage untouched until the danger of frost is over. New growth forced out on a warm day is extremely sensitive to cold.
Tuberous begonias are associated with the Fog Belt, where they really do thrive. However, there are tuberous begonias that succeed farther inland. A newer one is the Nonstop begonia, developed in Germany, which has been grown successfully as far inland as Whittier and Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. It is very similar to the coastal varieties, having the same amount of color. Some gardeners, even those in coastal areas, prefer it to the old-fashioned varieties because it bears so many more flowers, although these are slightly smaller. And because the blooms are lighter, they do not drop off as soon.
A most extraordinary discovery is that two begonias do well as far inland as Hemet, where, it was reported, they bloomed as late as Halloween. They are the Bertinii ‘Compacta,’ a single brilliant scarlet, and the Bertinii ‘Maybelle,’ a beautiful basket type with coral, trumpet-shaped flowers.
Tuberous begonias can be started indoors while the weather is cold. Put the tubers in flats of potting mix, but do not cover them. When pink shoots show, move them to a permanent location. Although they send roots from all sides, they shouldn’t be planted too deep. To prevent rot, take care not to let water collect in the depressions in the tubers’ centers.
Gladiolus are rated highly by florists for their variation in size, shape and color. If Gertrude Jekyll, the English arbiter of color in the garden at the turn of the century, were alive today, she would love the many subtle colors now available (one wholesale distributor, Davids & Royston Bulb Co., carries more than 60 named varieties).
If you’re planning a color scheme for a certain time, gladiolus can be very reliable--they bloom about a hundred days after planting, depending on the weather. If you plant now, they may take a few more days; if you wait until the ground is warm, they may take a few less. Try to plant them before the end of March; otherwise you’ll have to be on the lookout for summer thrips. Although commercial growers plant gladiolus in evenly spaced rows (to get straight, stiff stems), plant yours in tight groups. This way the foliage becomes thick like New Zealand flax and the stems bend slightly to get space and light.
Golden feather, or Chrysanthemum parthenium , is not usually thought of when one mentions chrysanthemums. A member of the feverfew family, with attractive feathery chartreuse-gold foliage, it can be grown as a low border, seven or eight inches high, by cutting with hedge shears to keep it neat. It makes a striking contrast in texture and color with the dark green of perennial candytuft ( Iberis ). It can also be grown for cut flowers like regular feverfew (it has the same clusters of small daisies with yellow centers). When mixed with the white rose ‘Iceberg,’ the result looks almost like a bridal bouquet.
Next summer’s crabgrass can be prevented by using a pre-emergent killer, which keeps the annual crabgrass seeds from germinating. If you’re planning to reseed your lawn, however, employing such a treatment the same year is not a good idea. Some crabgrass killers are mixed with fertilizer--an advantage. Eptam is a similar material used to keep weeds out of flower beds.
