Ask a Master Gardener: Anticipating Spring

Phyllis — Feb 01, 2022

I call February the month of anticipation. Although the days are not yet getting any warmer, they are slowly getting longer. Many of us are still living in icy cold weather, and some of us are still covered with snow. But we are all anticipating warmer days, signs of spring and brighter skies.

Despite the cold weather, now is certainly not the time to rest from the garden. One job that keeps me outside in the winter is trimming and pruning plants. Not all plants are pruned in the winter but for many, pruning while they are dormant is a must to deliver beauty in the warmer months. Fruit trees, especially apples and pears, as well as many roses must be pruned while dormant. Buddleia and some clematis are also on the winter prune list.

Phyllis Ferguson

Phyllis is a Master Gardener growing in Zone 7 in Charlotte, North Carolina. She loves working in her landscape with flowering shrubs and perennials, planting around ponds and water features, and taking care of her dogs and her backyard chickens.

A longtime Master Gardener educator in North Carolina, Phyllis is sharing her best tips for plant selection, gardening, landscape care and more with FastGrowingTrees.com.

Questions? Contact Phyllis at information@fastgrowingtrees.com.

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