Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of Feb. 10

By Ron Kujawski

Back on February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil let us know that we should expect 6 more weeks of winter. I don’t know where that fat, furry critter got his degree in weather forecasting but common sense and my calendar already told me that. Hence, we must occupy ourselves with these indoors tasks for a while longer:

 * Try your hand at growing some tropical houseplants from seed. Aralia, Norfolk Island pine, ponytail palm, Schefflera, bird of paradise, rubber tree (Ficus), Cordyline, and various philodendrons are just a few that can be grown from seed. Many garden centers now carry seeds of tropical plants if you don’t want to shop online.

*Cut off a few branches from flowering trees and shrubs – without destroying the natural shape of the plants – and bring these indoors to force into bloom. (Okay, that’s an outdoor/indoor task.) Some of my favorite woody plants to force indoors are pussy willow, shadbush (Amelanchier), forsythia, flowering quince, crabapple, flowering cherry, redbud, Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), and spring-flowering witch hazels.

* Cut back the flower stem on amaryllis after the flowers have faded but not until the flower stem has turned yellow. While the flower stem is green, it will continue to produce food, via photosynthesis, to replenish that depleted from the bulb during the flowering process.

* Sort seed packets, flowers and vegetables, according to the date when you will be sowing these seeds whether indoors or out. Writing the starting date on the front of the packets will also help organize your seed sowing schedule. 

* Hopefully, you got your sweetie pie a bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day. If not, it’s never too late to do so. Studies have shown that a bouquet of flowers is less fattening than a box of candy or dinner out at Chez Tres Cheres. I’ve personally conducted these studies over many years.

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Among the activities on my February checklist is the purchase of supplies for this year’s vegetable garden. One item that has become an essential part of my gardening practices is the row cover, sometimes referred to as a floating row cover.  A row cover is a lightweight fabric made of spun-bonded polyester or polypropylene. It is permeable to light, water, and air. Because of these features, row covers have many uses in the garden, from frost protection to insect control.

Ron Kujawski began gardening at an early age on his family's onion farm in upstate New York. Although now retired, he spent most of his career teaching at the UMass Extension Service. He serves on Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Horticulture Advisory Committee. His book, Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, is available here.