GREEN SCENE by Liz Herbert: Horticulture tips from the Allentown Garden Club.
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It’s March and the winds are blowing. This month comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, sometimes. It is time to get caught up on your winter chores and try to get a jump start on your spring chores.
Make time to go to both the Philadelphia and New Jersey flower shows. Spring is just around the corner.
Soak bare-root plants in tepid water before planting. Transplant deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs if soil is frost-free. Transplant and divide overgrown and weak flowering perennials. Plant cool season annual seeds, sweet peas, poppies, snapdragons. Set out pansies and English daisies for seasonal color.
Finish any dormant pruning you have left to do. Prune any winter damaged plants. Get excited; when leaves start to appear on your roses, it is time to cut.
Fertilize deciduous shrubs and groundcovers with 5-10-5. When bulbs start to emerge, fertilize with a 5-10-10 and Epsom salts. Use bonemeal and 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 on your perennials. Roses need a rose fertilizer, Epsom salts, bone meal and dried blood as new growth appears.
Keep an eye out for overwintering insects and disease. Spray dormant oil against scale and insect egg nests, when temperatures remain above 40 degrees for a couple of hours.
In your lawn remove any debris brought on by snow removal. Aerate any compacted areas to improve water penetration. Fill in any low spots with a good topsoil and seed.
When forsythia is in bloom, apply a lawn fertilizer with preemergence. Begin to remove winter mulch and shrubs, perennials and bulb beds and add them to the compost pile. Remove protective screening from evergreens. Cut down ornamental grasses and divide them if necessary. Transplant and divide overgrown and weak flowering perennials.
Continue to feed the birds. Put out dog hair, yarn bits, soft things for the birds to build into their nests.
Keep an eye out for Adonis, marsh marigold and skunk cabbage as they emerge and flower. Beginning to bloom are daffodil, crocus, chionodoxa, winter aconite, dwarf iris and wind flower. Willows and pussy willows also are starting to show some interest.
Green Scene is contributed by Liz Herbert, president of the Allentown Garden Club. For information about the club, call 259-9760 or 259-1886.