February Calendar
Average temperature High 74 Low 51
Rainfall 2.35 inches
Central Florida’s average last frost date; February 15.
What to plant
Vegetables: Plant through mid-month; beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collards, endive, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, peas, potatoes, radishes, Swiss chard and turnips. After mid-month plant; beans, cantaloupe, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, luffa, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes and watermelon.
Flowers: Alyssum, aster, baby's breath, bacopa, begonia, candytuft, carnation, calendula, coneflower, coreopsis, cosmos, dahlia, delphinium, dianthus, diascia, dichondra, dusty miller, false heather, four o'clock, gaillardia, gaura, gazania, geranium, gerbera, Johnny-jump-up, lobelia, million bells, nasturtium, pansy, petunia, rose, salvia, snapdragon, Stokes aster, sweet pea, and yarrow.
Herbs: Anise, basil, borage, chives, dill, fennel, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram, tarragon, and thyme.
Bulbs: African iris, amaryllis, Amazon lily, Asiatic lily, blackberry lily, blood lily, bulbine, caladium, canna, crinum, day lily, gladiolus, gloriosa lily, Louisiana iris, society garlic, spider lily, rain lily.
Lawn care
• Zoysia and Bahiagrass lawns turned brown due to cold; no special care is needed at this time.
• Mow zoysia lawn to recommended height of two inches and remove thick thatch.
• Those brown spots in lawns are likely weeds; remove and resod when grass is available.
• One way to control weeds is with regular mowing to reduce them to the height of the lawn.
• Cool season weeds can also be spot treated with herbicides as labeled for your lawn type.
• When previous brown patch disease has been noted, apply fungicide for lawns according to label instructions.
• Crabgrass preventers can be applied mid-month to stop annual warm seasonal weeds from germinating.
• Do not use crabgrass preventers if you plan to resod, seed or need runner growth.
• Seeding of ryegrass for a temporary lawn is over; most permanent lawns should recover soon.
• Tan to brown cold damaged blades can be left or raked from lawns as growth begins.
• Delay feedings of centipede and zoysia lawns until they regreen for spring in April.
• Inspect irrigation systems; check for clogged or broken sprinkler heads and adjust as needed.
• Check rain shut-off devices to ensure they are working correctly.
• Sod or plug new lawns; begin seeding after mid-month.
• Turf is hard to establish in shady sites; consider another ground cover.
• Take time to have a soil acidity test made and readjust the soil pH if needed.
• Aeration can help older and overfertilized lawns with compacted soils, nematodes or hard to wet soils.
• Service lawn care equipment before spring arrives.
Vegetable & Fruit Gardening
• Frosts and freezes have ended many warm season crops; remove declining plants.
• Prepare gardens by tilling in organic matter with sandy and previously planted sites.
• Hurry to plant the last of the cool season vegetables in early February.
• Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants now to have transplants by March.
• Prune cold damage from tropical tree and shrub type fruiting plants as needed.
• Bananas and papayas may have been frozen and need heavy pruning or replanting
• Pineapples may yellow their leaves and need major pruning but the plants should survive.
• Prune all deciduous fruit trees and vines as soon as possible.
• Learn how to thin peach & nectarine trees to obtain the best production.
• Plant container gardens to enjoy vegetables and herbs on porches and patios.
• Fertilize, groom and harvest herbs to keep them producing, dry and store extras.
• Warm season vegetables planted in late February are likely to need cold protection.
• Support vining crops by tying the vines to a stake or trellis.
• Plant additional fruiting trees, shrubs and vines.
• Purchase new seeds for the garden early to obtain the best selections
• Check with your University of Florida Extension office for new and better fruit varieties.
• Pine bark fines can be used to help adjust the soil acidity for blueberry plantings.
• Feed all fruit producing trees, shrubs and vines in late February.
• Use fallen leaves to form pathways, add a mulch to gardens or make compost.
• Sharpen, shovels, hoes and pruners to have them ready for spring planting and plant care.
In the landscape
• Take an inventory of cold damaged plants that may need to be replaced.
• Prune cold damage plants when you cannot stand seeing the brown leaves and branches.
• Plants may continue to decline due to cold so keep the pruners handy
• Perennials may be dead to the ground but should begin growth with warmer weather.
• Prune all but late winter and spring blooming trees and shrubs as needed.
• Reshape overgrown and out of bounds plantings including hedges.
• Only prune seed heads, small stems and suckers from crape myrtles.
• Prune ornamental grasses to within a foot or two of the ground before growth begins.
• Remove declining fronds and fruiting stalks from palms; leave the good green foliage.
• Give all but climbing roses a first of the year pruning around mid-month.
• Trim climbing roses after spring blooms to only remove dead or out of bounds shoots.
• Look for Florida bulbs to plant at garden centers to obtain the best selection.
• Move poinsettias to the landscape on warm days and apply a slow release fertilizer.
• Begin landscape tree, shrub and flower feedings if needed for growth and foliage color.
• Feed container gardens every other week or use a slow release fertilizer.
• Replant declining container gardens.
• Start seeds of warm season annuals and long-lasting perennials.
• Maintain a mulch around trees starting a foot from the trunks; six inches from shrubs.
• Prepare new flower beds; add organic matter to sandy soil.
• Plant bare root and container grown trees, shrubs and vines.
• Begin every other week feeding of orchids by month’s end or apply a slow release fertilizer.
• Start compost piles from leaves and yard debris plus thin layers of soil and a little fertilizer.
• Divide and transplant perennials.
• Clean lily ponds to prepare for spring growth.
Foliage and house plant care
• Many outdoor foliage plants show signs of decline: remove affected portions as needed.
• Replace severely cold damaged foliage plants when the weather warms.
• Check previous indoor plant additions for mites and insects.
• Most holiday plants can be grown outdoors when the weather warms.
• Give Christmas and holiday cactus a bright spot in the home; water when they start to dry.
• Remove faded flowers and stalks from forced amaryllis bulbs; add the bulbs to the garden.
• When indoor orchid flowers fade, move the plants outside to a warm shady site.
• Groom indoor foliage to remove old leaves, faded flowers and declining portions.
• Trim indoor topiaries and tree like plants to control size and shape.
• Feed all container plantings.
