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February Gardening In The Low Desert

© Pat Kolb

Is it spring yet?

This is the time of year that we desert gardeners have much to do. The weather is great and the nurseries are full of interesting things! Most things are best purchased locally but the interesting choices are sometimes just not there, so get out your garden catalogs and get those orders sent. Try out some new things as well as your old tried and true plants. Even with limited planting space, there are many things that you can grow. If your space is very limited, try the dwarf varieties of trees and other plants. You can grow many things in containers, including some full size tomatoes developed especially for containers. Other veggies available in small sizes or adaptable to containers are eggplant, squash, peppers, cucumbers — even onions, garlic, carrots, lettuce and many others.

Don't forget your favorite herbs when planning your garden. Many herbs can be grown in pots and strawberry jars. My basil wintered over in a sheltered spot — a little scruffy, but I am going to cut it back and see what happens. And good old rosemary — a beautiful all purpose plant for cooking, for a lovely tolerant shrub, for a houseplant, for topiary, etc.

Now is the time to finish pruning all deciduous trees, shrubs, shade and desert trees and roses — as soon as possible. Deciduous trees and shrubs should be fed with nitrogen. For shrubs and two-year-old trees, half a cup of ammonium sulfate; for older trees, one cup per inch of trunk diameter, and water well. Maintain soil moisture by watering every 10 days to three weeks, depending on rainfall.

Citrus trees should not be pruned until warmer weather when new growth begins but they should be fertilized this month. Use half a cup of ammonium sulfate for two-year-old trees; for older trees, approximately five pounds of ammonium sulfate, three pounds of ammonium nitrate, or six and a half pounds of calcium nitrate. Half should be applied now and half in May, spread out to the drip line of trees and watered in well (one pound equals about two cups).

Container roses can be planted at any time and bare root roses can still be planted this month. Buy only number one roses with green, viable canes with a good vase structure. Keep suckers from cut off from roses and other bare root shrubs and trees; sucker are the sprouts that grow below the graft on the main trunk. Feed established roses with a complete fertilizer and water in well. Iris needs the same treatment. Prune roses in late February.

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