February Gardening Calendar 2026

 

February Gardening Calendar 2026

Spring is near when the Daffodils start blooming.

 

This winter has come in with a vengeance bringing snow to parts of the United States that usually will receive no snow at all. As I write, North Carolina received more snow last night and the state hadn’t finished cleaning up since the last storm. Gardening is the last thing on anybody’s mind right now. As the snow melts and the temperatures begin to rise we gardener’s can start focusing on our gardens. Successful gardening depends on the timing of when you plant and prune established and new plants. Here are a few suggestions to do in February when your weather permits.

Trees and Shrubs can be planted now. This is the best time to plant Nut Trees, Fruit Trees, Shade Trees, and shrubs. By applying a combination of Super Thrive and Recharge by Real Growers instead of a root stimulator will get your newly planted trees and shrubs established much faster. Prune Apple and Pear trees after bud break in February, wait until mid-March for Peach trees. Spray fruit and nut trees with a horticulture grade dormant oil before bud break. Remove stakes, trunk wraps, and guy wires from trees planted 18 months ago. 18-24 months is the average time you need to keep the guy wires. Pruning fig trees save the horizontal branches, they are the branches that produce fruit. Is your Burford Holly overgrown? Now is a good time to severely prune back. Burford Hollies can be prune back to 24 to 48 inches. Butterfly bushes can be pruned back by ½ the original height. You will be rewarded with bigger blooms this summer.

Annuals cool season annuals can be planted, pansy, violas, sweet alyssum, pinks, stocks, snapdragons. Cool season annuals will provide lots of color until end of May or June. These annuals can be planted in the soil or containers.

Perennials trim back all the brown. This month is a good time to divide all perennials, if necessary. Apply a fresh layer of mulch.

Roses Prune back rose bushes to about 18 to 24 inches. The best time to prune is between February 14 – 22^th. Rake any leaves still on the ground underneath your rose bushes and give a fresh layer of mulch. If you had any black spot last year it is very important to rake the leaves and throw the leaves away and give a fresh layer of mulch. For more information on roses and rose care Click Here.

Lawns apply a pre-emergent to your lawn to prevent dormant weed seeds from germinating during the growing season. Most pre-emergents last about 3 to 4 months. There are weed and feed fertilizers that will fertilize the lawn and prevent weed seeds from germinating.

Vegetables cool season veggies like lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, asparagus, elephant garlic, garlic, snow peas, spinach, and strawberries can still be planted. To get a head start on your spring garden start thinking about planting your spring vegetable garden from seeds now. Organically grown Lettuce image left. ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2012. Organically grown Tomatoes image below ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2012 

Ornamental Grasses can be pruned back to 12 inches. Liriope that looks a little be draggled can be trimmed back, too. Prune back before the grass comes out of dormancy.

Houseplants In the winter months houseplants usually don’t require as much water as in the spring and summer months indoors. The reason is that the houseplant do not receive as much sunlight because of shorter and more cloudy days associated with the winter months.  Water with a houseplant fertilizer one half strength and turn your plants a ¼ to a ½ turn every week. By doing this the plant does not grow towards the light. For more information on Houseplants and their care purchase my book sold on Hibiscus And More. https://www.hibiscusandmore.com/product/grow-fresh-air Purchase here on the link provided.

Need more gardening advice? Ask your Questions Here. Follow our BlogSpot for current sales, daily specials, and sound gardening advice. Simply click on Join This Site Link under Followers. Sign Up Is Free.

All photographs maybe purchased as fine art prints at HibiscusandMore.com  

Cheryl’s Fine Art Photography is on Merchandise Greeting Cards and more

Cheryl’s gardening books are featured below and may be purchased at www.hibiscusandmore.com

Butterfly Gardening Book

Houseplants - Grow Fresh Air Book

Landscape Gardening Book

Need floral and Botanical stock photography?

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Cheryl+Ann+Meola

https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/210785031/Cheryl

https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/CherylMeola

Photography and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2012. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this article are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2012. Texas Certified Nursery Professional #1282.

January Gardening Tips 2026

 

January Gardening Calendar

Start planning for Spring. January is the perfect month to start planning your garden for the current year. As a refresher for last year’s thoughts, ideas or plants you were thinking about purchasing, dust off your gardening journal to see what changes or additions you want to make this year. A garden is always evolving.

Start looking at seed and garden catalogs. January is a good time to start planning this year’s design features and plants. Seeds and new introduction plants sell out quickly. Don’t miss out and wait, try to order your seeds or reserve your plants soon. Reserving your plant purchase guarantees the plant will ship at the proper time for planting in your USDA zone.

Seed starting Kits. Growers recommend starting the seeds indoors in a bright location to get a jump start to spring. There are seed starting kits which are advertised as seed starter germination kit or seed starter greenhouse kit. The kits usually feature a tray, growing media disks, and a cover for the tray. The kits are an excellent choice to start growing your seeds before spring. Some kits even include a warming matt to get a faster germination rate. 

Bare Root Roses will be arriving soon at local garden centers. Prepare planting beds by digging an area 3 feet wide by 12 inches deep for each rose. Soak bare root roses in a mixture of Super Thrive, Real Growers-Recharge soil microbes, and water for 24 to 48 hours before planting. Local nurseries will also have available roses in peat pots. Peat pots are biodegradable and can be planted directly in the ground. Don’t take the plant out of the peat pot. Before planting make a slit a quarter of the way down and around the pot four times. This action helps the peat pot degrade faster and also lets the roots start growing outside the peat pot. For more information on Rose Care Click Here.

Do you want to keep your Poinsettias all year? Once the temperature is 40 to 50 degrees you can place your poinsettias outdoors and in the shade. Water only when the soil is dry to the touch. Start fertilizing in March. After the blooms (bracts) start fading or turning green trim the plant.

Deciduous Trees and Shrubs the structure of the trees and shrubs can be easily seen this time of year. Prune all branches that rub or cross each other. Trees and shrubs can be planted now. Plan to plant on a warm day when the ground is not frozen. When the weather warms for a week or longer, and then the temperatures drop into the twenties, cover Camellias and Gardenias nightly until the temperatures are above freezing. The last week in January prune Pear and Apple trees, and Grape vines.

Vegetable Garden till the soil, if the ground is dry. This preventative measure helps to eliminate weeds, insects, and nematodes. Most vegetables can be planted in the garden after the last freeze date in your area.  Don’t have room for a vegetable garden, but would like to grow your own vegetables? All vegetables can be grown in large planters. The recommended planter size for vegetables is 16 inches or larger. In fact, that is how I grow my vegetables each season. For more information on Spring Vegetable Gardening Click Here.

Prune Pampas Grass and all other ornamental grasses down to about 12 to 24 inches. Prune Lantana and Cannas down level with the soil. Shape Crepe Myrtles and Altheas and remove old seed heads.

Annuals water winter annuals like pansies, violas, ornamental cabbage and kale, after a hard freeze. This helps to rehydrate the annuals faster. Water outside container plants before a hard freeze, too.

Houseplants check for insects. Insects like mealy bugs, scale, spider mites are more likely to infest your plants during the winter months. Spray with a horticultural oil or insecticidal soap, and make sure you spray underneath the leaves. Turn your houseplants a quarter to half turn once a week. This prevents leaning of your houseplants. I turn mine once a week when I water my houseplants.

Need more gardening advice? Follow our BlogSpot for current sales, daily specials, and sound gardening advice. Simply click on Join This Site Link under Followers. Sign Up Is Free. View Current Blog Post Click Here.

Discover the beauty of nature with plants and plant photo prints at Hibiscus and More, where every piece is a celebration of the natural world!

Cheryl Meola’s Plant Photography on Merchandise. The website features clothing, home décor, puzzles, and greeting cards to customize for any occasion. https://cherylann-meola.pixels.com

My photography is on display on different websites including my own HibiscusAndMore.com. The other sites that have my photography are: www.fineartamerica.com/art/cheryl+meola 

Click on the links below.

https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/cherylmeola

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Cheryl+Ann+Meola 

https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/210785031/cheryl 

Cheryl has written several gardening books available now on her website HibiscusAndMore. Topics include Landscape Gardening, Butterfly Gardening, and Houseplants.

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated or copied. ©Cheryl Ann Meola.

 

September Gardening Calendar 2025

 

Let’s get ready for September in preparation to cooler temperatures by fertilizing annuals, perennials, and roses one last time for winter preparation. Check flowerbeds for pooped-out perennials such as Purple Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan, and Shasta Daisy. Trim dead flower heads and brown leaves for fall. Apply a new layer of mulch. Mulch helps keep the plants warm in winter and cool during summer months.

Fertilize Chrysanthemums and Salvia with a liquid plant food. You will be rewarded with blooms later in the fall.

Chrysanthemums, Pansy, Viola, alyssum, and Snapdragons provide winter color through the spring and should be available by mid-September at garden centers. For spring blooms plant Bluebonnet and Poppy seeds now. For a complete list of Fall Color Annuals.

September is a good time to divide and cut back perennials. Check your daylilies, irises, and monkey grass while the weather is still warm.

Are you planning to bring your Tropical Hibiscus in this winter? Place in a sunny window. Before bringing indoors as a precaution spray plants with Safer Soap and follow package directions.

Preserve excess Basil leaves by pureeing in a blender with ¼ cup of olive oil or water. Pour the mixture in ice trays and use the cubes in your wintertime Italian dishes.

Spring-flowering bulbs should be on sale. Plan to plant in mid-October or when the weather cools to the 60’s or below.

Start planning where you will place your Tropical Plants that spent the summer outdoors. Trim back, if necessary and inspect for insects. Spray with appropriate insecticide, if needed. I prefer to use horticulture oil on my houseplants. Horticulture oils are environmentally friendly and will give your Houseplants a nice shine along with killing any insects. For more information on Houseplants and tropical plants click here.

Are you planning a fall vegetable garden? Cool weather vegetable starts such as Arugula, Beets, beans, carrots, radishes, spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, Broccoli, Collards, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Peppers, green onions, celery, cutting celery, Chinese cabbage, turnips, swiss chard, lettuce, cauliflower, bok chop, and Snow Peas are good choices. Don’t have room to plant a fall vegetable garden, but would like to grow your own vegetables? You can grow vegetables in a container. The container should be 16 inches or larger and for excellent success use a potting soil. For more information on Fall Vegetable Gardening Click Here.

The last week in September is the time to replace your mulch under your Roses and Red Tip Photinia to prevent diseases on next year’s leaves. Rake up any fallen leaves before replacing the mulch.

As the weather cools, this is a good time to plant shrubs and trees. When planting in the fall, it provides less stress on the plant and the roots start to get established in the ground. SuperThrive is the recommended concentrated solution of plant vitamins and hormones used to encourage plant and root growth and to revitalize stressed or dying plants. SuperThrive is not a fertilizer and can be mixed with your favorite liquid fertilizer. Dosage recommendation for transplanting or weekly use: ¼ of a teaspoon per gallon of water, or for larger projects 3 ounces to 100 gallons of water. To revitalize stressed or dying plants use: 1 ounce to five gallons of water and water the root zone or drip line. Then water every 3 – 5 days ¼ teaspoon to 1 gallon of water at the root zone or drip line. For bare root roses use: 1 ½ teaspoons per 5 gallons of water and soak for at least 30 minutes. Depending on your plant’s condition you may use weekly or monthly.

During drought or stressful conditions, it is wise to water established shrubs and trees. The recommended rate for trees is 15 gallons of water per each trunk diameter a week. Break up the amount of water to twice a week and use SuperThrive as recommended above.

I found another good additive to mix with water that will help get your new transplanted plants established. It is called Recharge from Real Growers. It’s a professional strength microbial superpack. Recharge helps and promotes stronger plants within 48 hours. I was skeptical, but I tried it and it really does work. That’s why I would recommend it when adding new plants to your landscape. You can mix Superthrive and Recharge together in water for excellent results.

Bermuda grass seed should be planted no later than September 15^th to ensure that the seeds germinate and become established before winter frost.

Brown Patch fungus is more apparent in the fall months. Prevention is the best cure by watering your lawn early in the morning before 10:00 AM or after 4:00 PM.

Mid-September is the last feeding for your lawns. Fertilize your lawn with a winterizer weed and feed to prevent spring-time weeds.

My photography is on display on different websites including my own HibiscusAndMore.com. The other sites that have my photography are: www.fineartamerica.com/art/cheryl+meola When you need images as stock check out the links below.

Need floral stock photography? Need botanical stock photography? Click on the links below.

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Cheryl+Ann+Meola   

https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/210785031/cheryl 

Cheryl has written several gardening books available now on her website HibiscusAndMore. Topics include Landscape Gardening, Butterfly Gardening, and Houseplants.

Happy Gardening. ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2025.

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated or copied.

 

August Gardening Calendar 2025

August Gardening Calendar

July and August forecast is predicting above average temperatures for most of the United States. For the past two weeks there have been heat advisory warnings daily and to use precautions while working outdoors. The best times to garden in an area that has heat advisories is early morning or late afternoon. When we garden during these heat advisories it is recommended to protect yourself from heat dangers by:

·         Stay out of the sun, if possible.

·         Drink plenty of cool water whether you are thirsty or not.

·         Wear loose, light-colored clothing, and sun screen. Try wearing clothes that use the Dri-Fit technology.

·         Try to schedule outdoor activities early mornings or late afternoons.

·         While working outdoors pace yourself and take a break when tired.

Prune Tropical Hibiscus you plan to bring indoors for the winter. Plan to place your plant in the sunniest window during the winter months. Trim back enough to fit your location indoors and bring your Hibiscus inside around December or before first frost. After pruning check your Hibiscus for insects and spray with appropriate insecticide. Now is a good time to fertilize your Hibiscus. Hibiscuses are heavy feeders and should be fertilized monthly.

Remove faded blooms and seedpods on your Crepe Myrtles. You may be rewarded with more blooms before first frost. The recommended fertilizer formulation for Crepe Myrtles is 10-15-9 or a similar combination. Don’t forget to fertilize your Crepe Myrtles.

Roses prune out dead canes, and weak, bushy growth. Cut back tall, vigorous bushes by 1/3 the original plant height. Fertilize roses on a monthly basis until October. After pruning you should see new blooms coming in about 6 weeks.

Azaleas Lace bugs on your Azaleas increase rapidly in summer. Check your Azaleas for insects. The damaged caused by these sucking insects looks like tiny white dots and the entire leaf is almost completely white. Spray with appropriate insecticide labeled for Azalea Lace Bugs.

Perennials Can be divided in August and transplanted else where in the garden. Perennials such as: summer phlox, peony, iris, and daylily. Perennials that have finished blooming for their season can be divided also.

Lawns check your grass for insects, especially for chinch bugs and white grubs. These insects are most active in the summer months. The signs for chinch bugs are irregular circles, and the grass is thin, and then dies. For white grubs, the signs are irregular circles, and the grass is loosely rooted. Check the soil underneath the loosely rooted grass by digging up the soil, the grubs should be about an inch down in the soil, if you have them. Apply the appropriate insecticide and follow the package directions carefully. Lawn Mower Blades should be sharpened once each summer. A sharpened lawn mower blade prevents shredding the grass, and giving your lawn a nice, clean cut.

Mulch check all shrub beds and trees for mulch thickness. We are experiencing extreme heat this summer and shrubs and trees that have 2 to 3 inches of mulch keeps the roots cool and helps the soil retain moisture. In winter 2-3 inches of mulch will keep the soil warm through the winter season.

Fruits and Vegetables Start planning your fall vegetable garden this August. Till the soil and add Gypsum and Composted Cottonseed hull. The additives lower the alkalinity and helps the soil stay loose. Tomatoes, Peppers, and Beans should be planted by August 1^st. Starter plants usually are available by August 15^th. Pick the varieties of tomatoes that mature in 65-70 days. Cool season vegetables, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, collards, spinach, kale, and snow peas are planted in September. Blackberry and Raspberry plants at this time of year have a tendency to trail along the ground. Take the trailing canes or runners and tie them back to their arbor. For more information on planting fall vegetables click to read my blog post Here. Seeds for cool season vegetables can be started now for planting in September.

Seeds sow cool season seeds of snapdragons, dianthus, pansies, calendulas, and sweet alyssum to be planted in mid to late fall. Sow seeds of bluebonnets and other spring wildflowers this month to be planted in the garden. The wildflowers will establish a root system during the fall for spring blooms.

Tropical Foliage Plants Check plants that are spending the summer outdoors for insects. Use an insecticidal soap, if needed. Your houseplants can be fertilized biweekly with a water-soluble plant food. Hibiscus and More has a wonderful selection of gardening books. Click to order.

August is a good time to start thinking about fall bulbs. Mail-order houses usually have early bird specials for consumers who order early.

Discover the beauty of nature with Hibiscus and More, where you can explore a stunning collection of fine art prints that bring the garden to your home.

Cheryl Meola’s Plant Photography on Merchandise. The website features clothing, home décor, puzzles, and greeting cards to customize for any occasion. https://cherylann-meola.pixels.com

Floral & Foliage Stock Photography.  Stock Photography.

Botanical & Seasonal Stock Photography. Stock Photography.

Need more gardening advice? Follow our BlogSpot for current sales, daily specials, and sound gardening advice. Simply click on Join This Site Link Under Followers. Sign Up Is Free. View Current Blog Post Click Here.

Have a wonderful summer. Stay hydrated, keep cool, and go to the shade when starting to feel weak. Happy Gardening.

©Cheryl Ann Meola - Certified Texas Nursery Professional #1282