Week 9

So far, we have had a warm winter. Here we are, the last week of February, reaching over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) in temperatures, and woodies are budding. Sunny, warm days get me and everyone else in the mood for instant flower gratification. I see carts full of flowers, and the shelves are bare only because it’s still early and the bulk shipments have not arrived yet. However, that isn’t stopping patrons from getting their hands on any available flowers. As hard as it was, I was constrained from purchasing flowers and began a new routine.

Instead of planting flowers, I am focused on preparing my gardens for the season. I trimmed grasses, sea oats, and zebra. I cut the plumes from my pampas grass but left the mounds of dried grass. Trimming pampas grass is challenging; the grass blades are long, sticky, and sharp. They are unruly and fight the trash bag. I hired help to cut them back for the last two years, and I am undecided this year. I may gain confidence in the coming weeks, but this task can wait. 

I cut back the winter foliage of my chrysanthemums, sedum, and scabiosa and uncovered the eucalyptus and dusty miller. I left the leaves in the beds to help protect the soil until I was ready for planting.

Crape myrtles are beautiful here in Oklahoma and do well in our climate. You can prune them for a clean, sculptured look; the trunks are long and smooth, almost like the elegant legs of the Rockettes, and the foliage bursts from the point you trimmed back, looking full and voluptuous. Or you can leave them as graceful, upright trees. We have both pruned and natural in our landscape. I pruned three of our Crape myrtles and left two as wild trees.

This year, I am driving my focus on roses. They are budding and leafed out already. I started with an early application of pest control, specifically for thrips. I applied a 30-day synthetic systemic –gasp; I know I’m not a fan either, but I am determined to knock thrips out this year. Then, I lightly pruned and sprayed the stems and budding foliage with an organic neem oil/water pesticide spray. My new routine is to spray the organic pesticide on Sundays for the next two months and apply one more systemic application at the end of March, bringing me to a safe May/June bloom where the beneficial bugs can take over.

Week 8 blooms:

• Ivory Feather
• Holly Berries

Week 8 recap:

• Cut back grasses and winter foliage.
• Purne Crape Myrtles.
• Purne Roses.
• The first application of monthly systemic.
• Begin weekly organic pesticide spray.

Week 9 plans:

• Pot-up Poppies, Selene, and Violas
• Start seeds for:
  • Red-leaf Hibiscus
  • China Aster
  • Jewels of Opar
  • Basil
  • Globe Amaranth
  • Yarrow
  • Romain

Happy Gardening,

Lelo