Johnston County Home Horticulture

Cool season grasses should be fertilized mid-month. If a soil sample has not been taken, use a fertilizer of at least 30% slow release at the rate of 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 sq.ft.
Fertilize fescue lawns lightly (half the fall application rate) around Valentine's Day. Remember that late or excessive fertilization in spring predisposes fescue to Brown Patch disease.
Pull wild onions/wild garlic . Those tall green sprouts in your lawn are difficult to control. Be sure to get the bulb along with the top growth! In addition to hand weeding, 2,4 - D works well if applied 2 x during the winter season. Complete control may take two years or more. Apply 2,4-D at half the recommended rate on centipede lawns otherwise it will damage the grass.

TREES, SHRUBS & ORNAMENTALS

Fertilize shrubs only if you want to encourage growth. If your shrubs are healthy and at the desired size, fertilizing will only increase your pruning chores. Remember that the shrubs feeder roots are concentrated just outside the shrub's dripline. ...but wait to fertilize azaleas until after they bloom. Use compost if you have it available.
Established trees do not need regular fertilization; they will get the nutrients they need from decaying mulch or from lawn fertilization.
Cut back dormant ornamental grasses before new growth starts to 10" or so above the ground. Evergreen ornamental grasses (or grasslike ornamentals) such as Liriope and Mondo Grass can be mowed to remove last year's unsightly foliage. Overcrowded clumps can be divided.
Remember the following rule for pruning shrubs:

Spring-blooming shrubs bloom on the previous growing season's wood, so wait till after they've bloomed to prune them. Examples include azalea, rhododendron, forsythia, spirea, flowering quince, kerria, pieris, weigela, and climbing or rambling roses.

Roses can be pruned now but do not cut off more than 1/3 of the growth. Remove old mulch and replace with fresh. Don't prune spring-blooming climbers until they have flowered.
Prune broad-leaved evergreen shrubs that have overgrown their locations, or consider moving them to a more suitable spot. Make thinning cuts instead of heading them back.
Sweet Williams, pansy, violas, calendula, forget-me-nots, English daisies, poppy , alyssum and dianthus can be planted now. Continue to deadhead pansies and feed with a liquid fertilizer toward the end of the month.
Bare root roses can be planted. Soak roots overnight. Bare root trees can also be planted.

INSECTS

Control overwintering insects (including scale insects) and their eggs with a dormant oil spray (also called horticultural oil). Check the back of Euonymus and Camellia leaves for small waxy black or white spots, which are the scale insects' hard shells. Follow label directions, and do not apply dormant oil to broad-leaf evergreens when freezing temperatures are expected.

LANDSCAPE IDEAS

To push spring forward and add color indoors, force bloom branches of forsythia, flowering quince, redbud, flowering apricot and deciduous magnolia. Cut branches at an angle and place in warm water.
Don't forget our feathered friends - feed the birds.
Keep the compost pile turned.

HOUSEPLANTS

Thanks to the Durham County Extension Office and 'Successful Gardener' for their generous contributions to this list.

JOHNSTON COUNTY HOME HORTICULTURE