Do I need to be doing anything special in the garden with all the recent warm weather? Should I be worried that some of my plants seem to have started growing?
— Jake Appleton, Winthrop Harbor
While many Chicagoans love a spell of warmer February weather, a lot of them have asked questions like yours! A sense of spring in the air does not necessarily mean there
are major concerns or any special maintenance practices to consider. We at the Garden are seeing some plants starting to respond earlier than in a normal year. Snowdrops, pussy willows and witch hazels are starting to flower, and we’ve seen buds on other shrubs (like dogwoods and viburnums) starting to swell. The staff is not concerned yet, since most of these plants will be okay when the typical cold weather returns. A blanket of snow to cover and insulate the ground would be beneficial, but we can’t control that!
It’s a great time to do dormant pruning of trees and shrubs and get an early start on cutting back perennials. If the warm weather continues, the window to complete this
pruning will close sooner than usual, because the plants will start growing earlier in spring. To do now: cut back old hellebore foliage before early flower buds are well
developed. Avoid working in garden beds with wet soil. A repeated freeze and thaw cycle can heave small plants partially out of the ground, especially if they were newer
plants that weren’t mulched. Check any new installations to see if there are plants that need to be gently pushed back in the ground. Plants grown in #1 containers and
smaller are more likely to be frost heaved if not mulched. Mulching a new planting is the best way to prevent frost heaving. Be sure to water any live shrubs that are outside
in containers during warm and dry periods.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
