What a rollercoaster month we seem to be having with this crazy weather.  Beautiful sunny days interrupted by frightening, fast moving storm systems.  Warm days where it seems like

Lorette Boswell

Frozen Japanese Magnolia

everything  might start blooming (and does) followed by freezing temps that kills those blooms as can be seen in the picture of my Japanese magnolia.  Signals of spring though are definitely here.  These include budding fruit trees, leafing out of the red swamp maples and the singing of spring songs by the cardinals.

During February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day and honor those we love by giving them roses.  If you enjoy growing roses, be sure to love them back this month by taking care to prune, fertilize and mulch them.  They will reward you with beautiful blooms come April and May.  Roses that need pruning now include hybrids and grandiflora types.  I cut mine back to about 2 feet and make the cuts just above an outward facing bud. Other types of roses, for example, floribunda types, can also be pruned now to shape the plants, control growth and remove dead tissue. Once-blooming roses should be pruned after they bloom in summer.  Louise Riotte, in her book “Carrots Love Tomatoes” has a section on roses and disease/pest control.  To protect roses from black spot, mildew and aphids she recommends planting garlic, onions, chives and shallots next to them.  In addition to onion family plants, she also recommends parsley be planted to protect against rose beetles, marigolds to protect against nematodes and geraniums to combat Japanese beetles.  She suggests making a spray from tomato leaves for black spot on roses. The recipe calls for juicing tomato leaves in a blender, adding four or five pints of water and one tablespoon of cornstarch.  Strain and spray on roses.  The active ingredient in the leaves is solanine, which is an alkaloid once used as an agricultural insecticide. 

Loretta Boswell

Blooming azaleas

Home landscape:  Yes, we still are in winter, but looking outside, it’s a blooming world.  The camellias have been stunning and, before I knew it, all of my azaleas were flowering.  In Metairie, the Japanese magnolias are in full bloom and gorgeous.  Driving down the highways on the North shore, you can spot the Taiwan flowering cherry (Prunus campanulata) with its deep pink blooms.  These are readily available at local nurseries and at local farmer’s market and you can get them into the ground during this ideal tree planting period.  The Taiwan flowering cherry makes a nice addition in the landscape.  It is a small, deciduous tree growing to a maximum height of 20 feet.  It prefers full sunlight but tolerates some shade and provides wildlife food.  On the downside, the tree will survive only up to 15 years here and takes about 3 to 4 years to reach peak blooming.  It also makes suckers that need to be cut off and should be shaped during the first few years for it to grow into a more tree-type structure.

The time to plant cool-season bedding plants is drawing to a close.  To have spectacular flowers come April and May, Dan Gill suggests that the plants be in the ground by mid-February.  He actually suggests planting cool-season flowers during the early winter months to give the plants plenty time to grow.  If you are going to buy these plants now, buy 4 inch pots instead of the six-packs to get the larger flowers. 

Loretta Boswell

Blooming daffodils

Hopefully, this crazy weather has not caused too much damage in your landscape.  Metairie and New Orleans are in way better shape than the north shore in this regard.  But if you suspect damage be patient and wait a while to assess damage.  This may mean waiting for new Spring growth to appear before attacking your garden with shears and loppers. 

Vegetable gardening:  It is still very wet here but progress is being made to get the spring vegetable garden growing. I love to have cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower growing in the garden as long as possible and these seedlings finally appeared at our local feed/seed store this past week and will be in the ground soon.  Also available were tomatoes and bell peppers, which I will plant taking extra precautions in the event of freezing temperatures.  Seeds already in the ground include beets, carrots, turnips, mustard, spinach, parsley, Chinese cabbage, radishes, Irish potatoes, and leaf lettuce.  Other seeds that can be sowed now include head lettuce, tomatoes, eggplants, snap beans and sweet corn in the extreme southern part of the state.  Seeds that can be started in the greenhouse now include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce (Horticulture Hints & Living Well, Fall/Winter 2007). 

Vegetables still being harvested include our bonus cabbage, the small heads that are produced when the main head is cut, kohlrabi, beets, arugula, chard, and collard greens.  Herbs include parsley, cilantro, rosemary, chives, thyme, oregano, and mint. 

This past weekend I was wondering what to do with the carrots, turnips, kohlrabi, beets and sweet potatoes that were in my refrigerator when I came across the following recipe.  It turned out so good that I have included a picture.  As the saying goes “Try it, you’ll like it.” My dish did not include the potatoes, parsnips or celery root, and I added sweet potato to the mix.  I also used rosemary and thyme in the recipe.

Loretta Boswell

Roasted Root Vegetable Medley

Roasted Root Vegetable Medley

Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck (foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

8 to 12 slender carrots, peeled and trimmed

8 to 12 baby turnips, peeled

6 to 8 fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut lengthwise in halves

1 or 2 large parsnips, peeled, trimmed, and cut diagonally into 1-inch thick slices

1 or 2 medium onions trimmed, peeled and halved, each ½ cut into quarters

1 or 2 large beets, peeled and cut into thick

1 or 2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cut into thick wedges

1 celery root, trimmed and halved, halves cut crosswise into 1-nch thick slices

1 whole head garlic, separated into cloves, unpeeled

2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put all the vegetables and the herb sprigs in a large baking dish.  Season well with salt and black pepper, drizzle generously with olive oil, and toss them with your hands to coat them evenly. 

Put the baking dish in the preheated oven and cook, stirring the vegetables occasionally, until they are tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes.  Serve the vegetables from their baking dish or transfer them to a platter to accompany a roasted main course. 

Mark your Calendars:

Feb 20- 7 p.m. The Joy of Old Garden Roses –New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park -  Maureen Detweiler talking about old garden roses.  Admission is $10.  Call (504) 483-9473. 

Feb 22- noon to 1 p.m. Horticultural Program – LaHouse, Gourrier Lane, LSU campus, Baton Rouge – This is a monthly Friday lunch series. The topic this Friday will be on tree pruning and other tree maintenance issues.  Call to register at (225) 578-2222. 

Mar 8 – Spring Garden Show – Hammond Research Station

Mar 8 – 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. - Madisonville Garden Show – On the grounds of the Town Hall on the Tchefuncte River – Free admission.

Mar 15 & 16 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Northshore Spring Garden Show – St. Tammany Fair Grounds in Covington.  Admission is $3.00.

Thank you for reading.  For questions, comments or perhaps to have an event of gardening interest listed, please contact me at lally@bellsouth.net.

Loretta Boswell

St. Tammany Master Gardener