Central Mississippi Garden Calendar
January - February
When it's wet, cold and dark for 14 hours a day, gardening is not generally a high priority, BUT plants still need some attention. Leaves must be removed (mulch mowed or raked up) from the grass. Deciduous trees (oak, maple, cypress) and summer blooming shrubs (roses, crepe myrtles, hydrangea) should be pruned. Bare-rooted or container grown fruit and nut trees can be planted. The weather is perfect for moving plants that need to be relocated in your landscape. And finally, seeds for summer flowers or vegetable gardens can be ordered.
Annual Flowers
An annual plant completes its life cycle in one growing season. It germinates, grows to maturity, blooms, sets seed and dies. The seed formation is what triggers the plants decline. Removing faded flowers, "deadheading", prevents seed formation, promotes heavy flowering and prolongs the plants life. Cool weather does not seem to bother the germination of some seeds. You can still sow seeds of sweet pea, California poppy, nasturtium, larkspur and stock in well-prepared flowerbeds. These winter annuals grow best during mild winters and tender new growth may need some protection during freezing temperatures. Fertile, well-drained soil (but with ample moisture) and full sun are key ingredients for success.
Sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is available in bushy form (1-3 feet tall) or as a climber for trellises. The blossoms are 1-inch long and generally highly fragrant. Finding a color to compliment your garden setting is no problem because of the many colors that are available, such as cream, pink, red, yellow, blue, purple or even bi-colored. The gray-green or blue-green foliage also offer added color contract.
If you're not much on pampering plants than California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, or nasturtium, Tropaelum majus, may be the cool- season annuals for you. There are a few stipulations. They both prefer sandy, poorer soil (rich soil inhibits bloom), and ample moisture ONLY during seedling stage. After that, they both prefer drought conditions. This is probably the reason that poppies do well as wildflower plantings on roadway medians. The orange colored poppy is the original wild version. Cultivated varieties with pink, cream, violet and crimson blossoms are also available. Nasturtiums tend to create a rather untidy mound but add a conspicuous prize to any garden. Edible, spurred orange, yellow, gold or scarlet blossoms are nestled among round leaves.
If your flowerbed needs a tall border, then try planting rocket larkspur, Consolida ambigua, or stock, Matthiola incana. They both have upright, column type stems of fragrant flowers that are great for cutting. Both have antique colored blossoms of pink, blue, peach and lavender. The larkspur foliage is lacy and dark green, while the stock has larger, strap like, gray-green leaves.
Most garden centers will have annual flowers still available in pint-sized containers during January and February. These are perfect for filling in the empty gaps in your flowerbed or adding a fresh look to patio and porch containers. Many of the annuals listed above will be available plus look for calendula, sweet alyssum and hollyhocks. Remember to feed established pansies, snapdragons, ornamental cabbage and kale plants with an immediate release complete fertilizer (no 0's in the three numbers).
Bulbs
Bulbs are basically storage tanks for plants that go dormant during cold or hot weather in order to survive. Bulbs are sold during the dormant state. The spring blooming bulbs are on SALE right now. While shopping for bargains, make sure that the bulbs are still viable. Select ones that are firm, large and free of blemishes. Bulbs such as Iris, crocus, snowdrop, grape hyacinth, daffodils and jonquils can still be planted to create drifts of color. Remember: Bulbs produce the best show when planted in large numbers.
Fruit Trees
Most fruit trees/shrubs/vines will grow in Mississippi. Some are very labor intensive due to our large insect populations and the plants susceptibility to disease. The easiest fruits to grow are blueberry, fig, Oriental persimmon and blackberry. Muscadine, pecan, strawberry and pear are considered moderately hard to grow. Peach, apple and plum are the most difficult. When I say 'hard to grow", I am referring to a plentiful yield of edible fruit with minimum human activity (spraying, watering, pruning, etc.). The following is a partial list of fruit cultivars that are suited for growing in Central Mississippi. These are "tried and true" cultivars that will produce fruit.
FRUIT |
CULTIVAR |
Blueberry |
Climax, Premier, Tifblue, Delite, Southland, Bluebelle, and Brightwell |
Fig |
Celeste and Brown Turkey |
Oriental persimmon |
Fuyu, Ichikikiefiro, Jiro and Suruga |
Blackberry |
Navaho, Cheyenne, Choctaw and Shawnee |
Muscadine |
Black Fry, Black Beauty, Doreen, Noble, Darlene, Carlos and Sterling |
Pecan |
Desirable, Candy, Jackson, Owens, Kiowa, Cape Fear and Elliott |
Strawberry |
Tangi, Cardinal, Tennessee Beauty, Comet and Chandler |
Pear |
Orient, Magness, Moonglow, Maxine and Baldwin |
Peach (S. of Hattiesburg) |
Bicentennial, La Festival, Dixiland, Harvester, La Gold, La White |
Peach (N. of Hattiesburg) |
Surecrop, Ruston Red, Redskin, La Jewel, Redhavan, Dixiland |
Plum |
Au-Amber, Au-Rubrum, Au-Rosa, Bruce, Crimson and Methley |
Apple |
Smoothe, Gala, Mollie's Delicious, Granny Smith and Arkansas Black |
Winter is the best time to prune fruiting plants. Before
pruning Muscadine vines, you should understand that fruit clusters are
formed on new growth, which only arises from last year's wood. You cannot
strip the entire truck and get fruit this year. The vines lateral arms
(cordons) are normally trained on a trellis. Cut back all previous summer
shoot growth off of the cordons BUT leave a 4-inch long vertical branching
fruiting arm (spur) every 6-inches on the cordon. The spurs will have
2-3 vegetative buds on each. These buds are where new growth and berry
clusters will occur this spring. Pruning Muscadine vines for the first
time is very intimidating but you must be aggressive.
Pear and apple trees are pruned to a modified central leader. This means that you tier or stair step the branches but keep the overall height shortened. If the fruit is out of ladder range, then the tree is too tall.
Peach and plum trees are pruned to an open center. The branches that are growing straight upward should be removed. Once again a tier or scaffolding affect is what you're looking for. After pruning, the overall tree shape should look like an opened, upside down umbrella.
Lawns
Fall leaves must be removed either by raking or mulching with your mower. If you planted winter ryegrass, mow it regularly. Now is an excellent time to fill in those low areas that are holding water. Try to level out areas that always get scraped bare by the lawn mower. Put out a pre-emergence herbicide to control early germinating weeds such as crabgrass, goose grass, clover, henbit and chickweed.
If you were going to start a new lawn this year, then begin preparing in late February. Get yards of organic matter or soil conditioner delivered. Generally, you want at least 5 inches of organic matter spread over the entire surface. Then, till it in when the soil is relatively dry. Do not till when you can squeeze water out of a handful of soil. Tilling on wet ground is worst than doing nothing. It destroys and compacts the soils structure. The most important task is to get a soil analysis to determine lime and fertilizer recommendations.
Trees & Shrubs
Be on the lookout for hard and soft bodied scale insects on the back of evergreen leaves and on plant stems. Spray with a dormant oil to smother them. If you need added control then spray the next time with an insecticide.
Trim and shape up evergreens. Cut out the dead wood in your flowering shrubs. Prune shrubs that bloom during the summer (after May), such as Abelia, barberry, Buddleia, smokebush, Rose of Sharon, crape myrtle, oleander, tea roses, Clethra (summersweet), old fashion hydrangea (not oak leaf or big leaf variety) and summer-flowering varieties of Spirea.
Donna Hamlin Beliech is the writer of Central Mississippi Garden Calendar monthly. She's a self described "dirty-handed gardener" and avid seed saver. She lives in Brandon and is the Area Extension Horticulturist for six counties in Central Mississippi.