Trees, Shrubs and Roses: Essential Care for February

Planting and Moving

• Finish planting any bare-root or root-balled deciduous trees in shelter belts or hedges by mid-March if the ground has dried out sufficiently.
• Deciduous trees and shrubs can be moved during this time, even large shrubs can be relocated successfully.
• Evergreen trees and shrubs can still be planted or moved as the sap rises over the coming month.
• Deciduous trees will soon break bud in some cases, signaling the end of the bare-root planting season, but pot-grown plants can still be planted.

Pruning and Maintenance

• Prune bush roses and repeat-flowering climbers within the next two weeks if you haven’t already.
• Check that young trees are securely tied against spring gales to prevent them from getting rocked in the ground.
• Make sure young trees have not formed a fork with rival lead shoots, and remove one shoot if necessary.
• Gather fallen twigs that may have blown from trees during gales.
• Hedges that have grown too tall or too wide can be cut back hard to old wood now, but avoid cutting back cypresses as they do not re-sprout.
• Check and re-firm all young plants planted in recent months in the ground, if necessary.

Roses Care

• Rose bushes can be planted at any time, with potted roses getting off to a better start.
• Apply rose fertilizer to all bush and climbing roses.