Works in the garden in February

Requested by one of our readers was an article about maintenance works throughout the year.

I thought it would be nice to make a monthly series out of this.
This is part 2 about the works in February. You can find the other parts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Because the life of a gardener is very much tied to the weather and seasons, it is essential to note the weather during the month described.

Japan is a long island, stretching from the North-East to the South-West and crosses several degrees of latitude. Plus it has a mountain range running from north to south, which will create different weathers in the west and east.

I will start each article with the average weather of that month focussing on Tokyo and Kyoto if possible.

The weather in February:
The weather in February differs not that much from the weather in January.
However, this is the month where we often get snow in Tokyo, which seldom remains.
The temperatures range from 10 °C (59°F)during the day to -2 °C (28°F) during the nights.

Works, which will be done in February:

Cutting trees along the streets
Especially Ginkgo trees and Zelkovia serrata.

 

Cutting trees and shrubs in the garden
The works from January continue if the weather makes it possible. However, when it is cold, you won’t prune as hard as in summer.

 

Doing new plantings and improvement works
As long as the ground is not frozen, there is no reason to not plant a new garden in this season. However, it is a little bit difficult with evergreen trees. If there is no rain (which is common in this season), one needs to consider watering the plants and protect them from direct sun.

 

 

 

Planting hedges
While planting evergreen trees should actually been done from March, it is no problem at all to plant hedges in February. It is actually advised.

 

Repairing damages done by snow
After heavy snow, especially when it wasn’t removed and became heavy through thaw and following freezing temperatures, branches of trees will break and gardeners are called to remove them. Also a lot of plants, which are not used to continuing cold temperatures die and gardeners will have a lot of appointments for follow-up re-plantings in the garden.

 

 

Removing snow
Sometimes, when the temperatures are low over weeks, the snow will not melt by its own very fast and to be able to continue work, it is necessary to remove the snow. This is done by shoveling and by using water from a hose.