Winter dormancy is the ideal time to prune numerous plants into shape before the growing season. To avoid disrupting developing buds, it can be beneficial to target the window before your plants start budding. Always cut carefully with clean, sharp clippers. Since plants have different growth habits and pruning needs, individualized research can help build confidence and set you up for success. The internet can be a valuable resource, but we also often host pruning workshops this time of year and our team is always happy to help answer your pruning questions in person.

While you are pruning your roses and fruit trees, you can go ahead and cut back any Heathers and early winter-flowering shrubs that have finished blooming — as well as any overgrown hedges like boxwood, laurel, and Privet. Doing so before birds begin to nest in the spring helps to ensure that you won’t disturb any active nests.

Most garden roses should be pruned back hard towards the end of February to promote healthy growth in the coming spring. This is also great time to add or upgrade trellises and arbors for climbing rose varieties — not to mention other climbing and vining plants. Experienced rose shoppers also know that this is the time of year when we have the greatest selection in stock. If you wait until bloom time, you might be disappointed to find that many coveted varieties have already sold out!

For bird species that utilize nesting boxes, February is the ideal month to set out new birdhouses. This gives our feathered friends the opportunity to grow accustomed to these boxes as permanent fixtures in the landscape before breeding season, which, in turn, increases the likelihood they will use them to build nests. Similarly, “bee hotels” should be made available to our native mason bees before they emerge in the next few weeks. These gentle blue-black bees very rarely sting, and it's a great idea to help them out, as they are the number one pollinator of orchards in our area.

Although our winters are relatively mild, we can still have freezes this month. Watch out for cold snaps and be ready to protect tender plants with frost cloth or a cloche. A fresh layer of mulch helps insulate your plants from sudden temperature changes. Containerized plants are particularly susceptible to freezing temperatures, so water them deeply before a hard freeze. If you're cringing at the windchill factor, so are your tender plants — consider moving containers to a more sheltered location and potentially digging up any struggling landscape to take advantage of windbreaks.

Seed shopping is in full swing this month! From flowers to veggies, we keep our seed display stocked year-round, but shop early to make sure you are able to find the varieties that you are looking for. While it might seem early to think about sowing seeds, this isn’t necessarily the case; experienced gardeners know that many seeds can be started indoors to get a head start on the growing season, then transplanted outdoors once temperatures regulate.

Your location and the types of plants you hope to grow will determine the best seed starting method and timeline for you, but a good place to start is by getting acquainted with your average last frost date. Last frost dates can vary greatly depending on your location — from as early as mid-March for downtown gardeners to as late as mid-April for those closer to the Gorge — but virtually all seed packets will time their instructions in terms of a recommended number of weeks out from this date to start your seeds.

A few examples of veggie seeds you could be starting under lights this month include onions, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, but some Kitchen Garden seeds can be sown directly in the ground as early as the end of the month. According to the Maritime Northwest Garden Guide by The Tilth Alliance, this includes seeds of plants in the carrot family such as fennel, onion family members like garlic, and a variety of shelling, snap, and snow peas.

As long as the ground isn’t frozen (and it rarely is, here in the Portland Metro) you can plant! This is an excellent time of year for planting because the moist soil helps accelerate root growth and give transplants a head start before their spring growth spurts. Our mild winters also ensure that small trees and shrubs can be relocated this time of year, and you can even get a little weeding done. Although weeds are a constant in a gardener’s life, the good news is that any time spent digging them out now is time you will save later in spring.vBe sure to replace compost as needed to prevent more weeds from taking hold, preserve moisture later in the season, and add nutrition to the soil. Just be mindful of any dormant perennials or emerging bulbs while you’re working in your beds.

We’ll let you in on a little ‘trade secret’: experienced gardeners and nurseryfolk alike know that the best selection often arrives early! In late winter, our first big orders of roses, fruit trees, native plants, and more begin to appear. The early bird gets the worm, so the perfect rose may be long gone by the time those gorgeous blooms unfurl — or, it could already be thriving in your garden by then. Whether you’re hunting for specific varieties or want to leave your options wide open, keep a close eye out for February deliveries and find the perfect specimen fresh off the truck.