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Time to ...:
Bring an early spring inside. Cut early flowering shrubs for indoor forcing. Forsythia is a snap; other candidates include corylopsis (winterhazels), witch hazel, early-blooming little-leaf and deciduous rhododendrons, even early cherry trees. Select branches with buds that are already swelling. Split or crush the stem ends (for thick ones, use a hammer) and place in water in a cool room. When flowers begin to emerge, make arrangements.
Rescue snowdrops and winter aconite from autumn leaves and the like.
Place orders for seeds. But only those with a true hothouse or an excellent artificial-light setup should sow now. Otherwise, avoid weak seedlings by delaying indoor sowing until April Fools' Day.
Acquire some wood-chip mulch for free. Arborists are busy trimming trees all over; inquire if one working near you will dump a load of chips on your property. By May, the nitrogen-depletion danger from fresh wood chips will be greatly diminished.
Take the lawn mower in for a checkup. If you delay till the grass needs mowing, you'll wait weeks to get it back.
When wet snow clobbers shrubs and trees, mitigate losses by using loppers or a saw to give broken stems clean cuts that will facilitate healing and minimize disease. If a deep snow weights down young plants' stems, gently extract them. Otherwise, as the snow compacts and refreezes, branches may break.
Look on the bright side. Literally. The darkest third of the year is over.
- Michael Martin Mills
Next week, answers to gardening questions. Write to Michael Martin Mills, The Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 or gardenqanda@earthlink.net. Please include locale. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelmartinmills.
Next week, answers to gardening questions. Write to Michael Martin Mills, The Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 or gardenqanda@earthlink.net. Please include locale. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelmartinmills.
