February 2004

• Begin pruning late-blooming (after June 15) shrubs. Prune using the rejuvenation method. Prune all stems back to four to six inches tall. Shrubs that have become overgrown respond well to this pruning method.
  
  
• Avoid storing firewood indoors. Firewood can be infested with insects. Store outside, off the ground and covered with plastic or a tarp.
  
  
• Have you heard about an upcoming emergence this spring of millions of periodical cicadas? Well, not to worry. It is true that the Great Eastern Brood will emerge this spring over much of the eastern United States; but will be limited to a few east-central counties in Illinois. The next major emergence of cicadas in northern Illinois will occur in 2007.
  
  
• Add white glue or clear nail polish to your list of needed garden supplies if you grow roses. When pruning roses, it is not necessary to prune every cut. Seal cut stems that are larger than a quarter inch with a drop of glue or polish. This will reduce borer infestations.
  
  
• Give your Valentine the gift of roses that keeps on giving; a rose bush. Order from a mail-order catalog and request delivery for the rose planting time in your area.
  
  
• Plan to grow the annual “Dahlberg Daisy” along the edge of a flowerbed or in containers. This 12 inch high round mound of small bright yellow flowers with fern-like foliage requires full sun.
  
  
• Try growing cabbage under floating row covers in the vegetable garden. These light spun-polyester covers allow most of the sunlight through, but keep out cabbage pests.
  
  
• Save orange juice and tuna fish cans to use as barriers around newly transplanted plants to protect them from the cutworm. Cutworms will chew through the stems at soil level. Cut both ends from the cans and push cans about an inch into the soil around the plants. After two to three weeks, the cans can be removed because the stems will have thickened enough to withstand any cutworm damage.
  
  
• Avoid using leaf shine products on houseplants. Recent research has shown that leaves coated with leaf shine reflect light rather than absorb it.
  
  
• Start thinking about repotting houseplants. Houseplants may need to be repotted when roots are growing out of the drainage holes; leaves are yellowing, or when water runs quickly through the container after watering. Pot into a new pot, one to two inches wider than the original container.