By Dan Weintritt and Friends
Adapted from Month-by-Month Gardening in Louisiana by Dan Gill
Add/Change/Improve
Continue to transplant trees and shrubs that are still dormant, and divide and transplant perennials.
Pull out refrigerated seed that was stored in fall, and sow into trays that can be brought indoors during cold periods.
This is a great month to prepare new bed space for all the plants you will buy at plant sales this spring! Scrape sod or turf with a sharp shovel, or use an herbicide according to manufacturer's instructions. Herbicides will work much better on warmer days. Brown cardboard can be applied over the soil as an additional, compostable, weed barrier.
Hollies will be flowering soon; if you did not get a good crop of berries, consider that many hollies need a male pollinator. Talk to your garden club or a horticulturalist if you need help determining what type of hollies you have, and what an appropriate pollinator would be.
Maintain
Watch out for invasive, non-native, cool season weeds. Pull by hand and dispose of the entire plant to prevent seed from persisting in the garden. Evergreen invasive plants like Japanese honeysuckle stand out this time of the year. Now is a great time to identify and remove them.
Finish pruning trees and shrubs this month while dormancy lasts.
Fertilize Louisiana Iris and other spring-flowering plants, if desired.
Established plants probably don't need water right now, but monitor water needs for containerized plants as they are waking up. They especially need moisture before the sudden, hard freezes now and next month.
Avoid working in the garden after extremely rainy weather, when soil is moist and heavy. Excessive activity will lead to soil compaction.
Propagate
Seedlings and cuttings that were started indoors or in hot houses can be brought out on mild days to acclimate to outdoor temperatures.
Continue to start seed trays. Plant seeds of annual species in staggered sets a few weeks or a month apart to extend bloom time in the garden
Protect
Evergreens such as Magnolia and Holly can be evaluated for scale infestations. Heavy infestations can be treated now with horticultural oil. Ensure that the spray coats all surfaces of the leaf, especially the undersides, where most infestations are worst. Two treatments a few weeks apart are more effective than one.
Continue to be prepared to protect young plants and seedlings from freezes. Some of our hardest freezes can be had as late as early March. Early blooms on Iris and other garden plants can be lost if they bloom early and then are hit by a late freeze. Plan to cover or at least mist tender growth to preserve blooms; the plants themselves will be fine and not weakened by freezing weather.
Enjoy/Harvest
Native blueberries, Maples, and other early spring bloomers will begin to wake up now. Winter is almost over!
Iris, Lyreleaf Sage, Thistle, and others may wake up early if weather is mild.
Look out for blooms on Fleabane Daisy, Spring Onion, Butterweed, and other spontaneous Natives in your yard and the surrounding countryside.
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