Marianne Binetti will be performing at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival Feb. 19 to 23 at 11am daily as host of “Container Showdown” a design competition on the main stage. Show tickets and information at gardenshow.com.
The second week of February is a good time to dig up and divide any early flowering bulbs such as snowdrops or crocus.
Early spring is also when you can remove the three D’s from trees and shrubs. Anything that is dead, diseased or damaged can be cut out now.
An early spring application of lawn food will help to encourage thick new growth and this helps to crowd out lawn weeds. Treat yourself to tickets to the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival by going online and ordering tickets now. Visit www.gardenshow.com to order tickets, view the speakers list, check out the exhibitors and hear about the designs for the spectacular show gardens that will be featured at this year’s show that runs Feb. 19 to 23 in Seattle at the Washington State Convention Center.
Q. We bought an old house in Tacoma. The white snowdrop bulbs have been blooming like crazy in much of the back yard beds. We would like to move some of these bulbs to the front yard beds. When is the best time to do this? C.K. Tacoma
A. Congrats on taking over an older home with an established garden. Snowdrop bulbs (Galanthus) are some of the easiest to divide because the bulbs are small and close to the surface of the soil. You can move them as soon as the flowers fade or anytime the foliage is still green. Just plunge a shovel into a crowded mass of bulbs and set the contents on top of a tarp. Next pull apart the slender bulbs that are clinging together and replant each bulb separately so that it is growing at about the same depth as it was before. You may want to soak a crowded clump in a bucket of water first to make the bulbs easier to detangle.
Tip: Snowdrops are one of the few bulbs that prefer moist soil and that will flower in a mostly shaded spot. Do not plant snowdrop bulbs in a hot location with dry soil. Adding the bulbs under deciduous trees such as maples, under the skirts of rhododendrons or among shade loving perennials such as hosta and brunnera is a great way to extend the season of color in a garden bed.
A Beautiful Plant Marriage in Black and White
Black Mondo grass and pristine white snowdrops make a handsome couple and create a beautiful plant marriage. The black mondo grass provides a contrasting background for the early snowdrop blooms and also helps to hide fading foliage once the flowers are done. Both plants thrive in partially shaded, moist soil.
Q. When does one prune a forsythia shrub? Mine has grown so tall it is shading out some sun loving perennials. F.S., Enumclaw
A. Any time you want to get snippy with forsythia you can. This early flowering shrub with the bright yellow blooms stand out in the winter landscape because the flowers appear up the length of the woody stems before the leaves sprout. In January you can cut back the branches and bring them indoors and if placed in a tall vase the naked whips will be forced into bloom. You can also harvest the branches and at the same time prune back the shrub when it is in full flower or in late spring or early summer when it has nothing but foliage on the branches. I have even pruned the tough forsythia in the fall once when I had no choice and was forgiven for the insult. Pruning after blooming is the general rule of green thumb for f lowering shrubs and try not to remove any more than one third of the branches.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
