Harbingers of Spring

Gardening Tasks for the Month

• Plant potatoes (red, white, yellow, and russet) for a variety of uses and flavors.
• Choose and plant blueberry varieties for fruit and landscape appeal.
• Spray peach and nectarine trees for peach leaf curl using copper spray before buds break open.
• Plant primroses to brighten flower beds and boxes.
• Plant strawberry plants for summer harvests.

Harbingers of Spring

Spring is approaching, marked by early-blooming shrubs that signal the season’s arrival.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis)

• First shrub to bloom each year, with fragrant, spidery flowers in yellow, coppery orange, or dark red.
• Slow-growing but can become large; benefits from pruning to maintain size.
• Produces vibrant fall foliage in yellow, purple, orange, and red.
• Thrives in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil; ideal for woodland gardens.
• Flowers adapt to temperature shifts—petals unfurl in warmth and roll up in cold.

Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)

• Blooms from February through March with waxy flowers in red-orange, rose, pink, or white.
• Deciduous shrub growing 6–10 feet tall and wide; twiggy and multi-stemmed, suitable for hedges or barriers.
• Flowers resemble apple blossoms, lasting over a month in clusters.
• Tolerates a wide range of soil and site conditions, including dry sites; best in full sun.

Forsythia ‘Spring Glory’

• Deciduous shrub exploding in brilliant yellow flowers each February.
• Grows 6–8 feet tall and wide; ideal as a specimen plant or screen.
• Blooms on old wood—prune immediately after flowering to avoid reducing next year’s blooms.
• Drought-tolerant once established.

Winter Daphne (Daphne odora)

• Produces intensely fragrant white or pale pink flowers with a citrus-like scent in February.
• Evergreen shrub with neat growth, reaching about 4 feet tall and wide.
• Leaves may be solid green or edged with pale yellow.
• Prefers protection from hot mid-day sun and well-drained soil.