Your garden is a mess from warm February weather: You can do these jobs now | News

While the average temperature in February is usually around 3 degrees, the mercury in Oakley rose to 16.8 degrees at one point Thursday. How do you mow, plant, prune and care for your garden in these warm February days? Jürgen Smit, gardener at Tuinmanieren, explains what you should and shouldn't do in the garden. He has been a gardener for over 35 years, has presented two garden programs for our northern neighbors and written three gardening books.

The possibility of pruning in February depends on the type of plant. You can distinguish between evergreen and deciduous plants. Evergreen plants and shrubs do not become bald, but some leaves may change color. “Plants such as bamboo, boxwood, yew, snowball, rhododendron, sedge, tulip grass, glossy medlar, conifers, choysa, ivy, ornamental grasses and butterfly bushes are best pruned after winter. It is warm now, but at the end of February there can sometimes be a severe period of frost, which can “It can damage pruned plants. Ornamental grasses can now serve as a shelter for hedgehogs, for example.”

You can prune deciduous plants and shrubs. “You can now ideally shorten a beech hedge from two meters to one metre,” says the gardener. “Because there are no leaves now on these trees, you can see exactly what you're doing. It's the same with your hedges. You can prune your rose bushes and climbing roses now.”

“You can now also prune deciduous shrubs and trees, but keeping the form intact. Now you have to be careful with grapevines and kiwi plants, because they can 'bleed' when you prune them. It sounds serious, but you can compare it to a scratch wound. This also applies to Hydrangea tree.

The grass continues to grow. “You can mow the lawn,” Smit says. “But since there was heavy rain, the soil has become waterlogged. If you go over it with a lawnmower and walk over it yourself, you could damage the soil. What you should never do is scratch the grass. The best period for this is the end of March or the beginning of April.”

What you can do to keep your lawn healthy is liming. According to Smit, lime is beneficial for several reasons: “Lime is good for improving soil structure. It ensures better release and absorption of nutrients in the soil, and makes the soil less acidic. When the soil is less acidic, grass grows better. Spray 1 to 1.5 kilograms of lime per ten square meters on the lawn. “It collapses on its own and does its job.”

There is no sense in laying or planting cuttings yet, because any frost will destroy everything. If you do not have a greenhouse, you can plant your first vegetables and herbs. Fertilization and mulching are important in February. Smit recommends a layer of compost 2 to 3 centimeters thick and about 1 to 1.5 kilograms of lime per ten square metres. Lime makes the soil less acidic and compost revitalizes the soil.

“It provides good bacteria, good fungi and worms,” says the gardener. “Worms are the gold in the soil. They process leaf litter into humus and create tunnels in the ground where excess rainwater drains easily. In these same tunnels, the worms leave behind humus particles to which water and nutrients attach. These are reabsorbed by hair roots that They crawl into the tunnels because there's oxygen there too. Because the roots go deeper into the ground, the plants are much stronger and less sensitive to drought. You can actually shovel and shovel the soil. But definitely don't dig, because then you're destroying the life of the soil.

“Think now if you are going to redesign your garden or plant new trees. Now is a 'great planting time' for a hedge such as yew or laurel.”

“The soil is now relatively warm and you can now buy plants cheaply online with a bare or potted root ball and it's still quiet in the middle of the garden,” the gardener explains. “Because the soil temperature is already a little higher, the plants' roots will start growing immediately as soon as you put the plants in the ground. These 'pick up' and then kick in for a couple of months in the plants you plant in April. This makes a big difference in the amount of water you have to provide by the time That's when the plants start growing. If it freezes at the end of February, it won't matter to the plants you planted. “They can handle that.”