Category: pruning

To Do in the Garden: February 2026

On By durhammastergardenersIn garden tasks, Gardening calendar, gardening NC, pruning, Uncategorized

By Gary Crispell, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

Closeup of plant twig covered with ice and snow.
Shrub whose branches are heavy and bending under the weight of snow.
Spent seed heads of black eyed Susan plant covered in snow.

In central North Carolina, frigid temperatures and snow are ushering in February 2026. (Image credits: Sabrina can den Heuvel/Pixabay; Melinda Heigel)

Well, friends, wasn’t January fun?  I haven’t worn so many clothes simultaneously for so long since the BIG SNOW of 2000 (or maybe since I was a kid in upstate New York).  It has been (expletive deleted) COLD!! 

The Accidental Cottage Garden (ACG) has gone into deep hibernation.  I have managed to get a solid covering of wood chips on some of it.  (Good thing I kept the tractor when I dissolved the landscape company.)  My barely functioning left knee prevented any detail work in the ACG.  (By the time you read this that problem will have been taken care of.)

February is the official start of gardening season (if there isn’t any white stuff covering the beds).  I know that is a fact.  I saw it on the internet.  There are many more things to do this month than in January, so lets put on all of our clothing and get started.

Lawn Care

Cool season grasses (i.e. fescue and bluegrass) should be fertilized with a slow-release fertilizer following the recommendation of your SOIL TEST.

Late February/early March is the best time to apply a preemergent crabgrass preventer.  There are several easy to use granular products on the market.  Be sure to read and follow the directions on the label for safe and proper handling and application.  Calibrate your spreader to ensure accurate application amounts.  Too little will not give you effective control and too much may damage the turf.

Fertilizing

See Lawn Care above and Planting below.

Planting

And so, it begins.  The vegetable garden.  The reason for existence, for frozen fingers in February, summer sunburn and the endless supply of liniment in the medicine cabinet.

Kale crop covered in heavy frost.

According to NC State experts, “Some cool season crops like Brussels sprouts, beets, collards, kale, parsley, and spinach will survive even if the temperature drops below 26 ºF for an extended period of time.” (Image credit: NC State Extension)

It is time for root vegetables and salad (and beef Bourguignon—which you can’t grow in the garden).  Early “plantables” include cabbage, carrots, leaf lettuce, onions, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips.  Work a little fertilizer into the soil that was tested in October (while it was still free to do so) following the recommendations of said SOIL TEST. More winter weather ahead into spring? Learn how to protect your crops.

Be cognizant of soil moisture levels.  Mother Nature has not done much in that department since October of 2025, but she can be really fickle.  We’ll probably have monsoons in April.

Pruning

If you have been ignoring previous posts, now it would be a good time to prune bunch grapes and fruit trees.

Also due for judicious trimming are summer flowering shrubs and small trees.  That list includes rose of Sharon (Hibiscus seriatcus) crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp.), butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), and hydrangeas that bloom on new wood (Hydrangea arborescens & H. paniculata). Note: now is not the time to prune spring-flowering shrubs. You should prune these shrubs AFTER they have flowered in spring, but before the next year’s flower buds are set. If you prune these shrubs in winter or early spring, you will remove many of the flower buds and have fewer if any spring blooms. Spring-flowering shrubs that sucker readily from the base can benefit from some thinning (more here). Examples of spring-flowering shrubs are lilacs, forsythia, viburnums, honeysuckle, chokeberry, mock orange, and weigela.

While you’re out there, late winter to early spring is the time to whack back the ornamental grasses, also. 

Got some overgrown shrubs that you’ve been meaning to (or are reluctant to) prune heavily?  Go for it now.  I understand that if you’ve never done it before it can be a bit intimidating, trust me.  The plant will almost always not only survive but also thrive.  I am aware of the never-more-than-a-third rule, but sometimes that is not enough.  This is known as renewal or rejuvenation pruning and can benefit overgrown and mature specimens. So if it needs to go back to 12”-18” …. go for it.  Chances are you and the plant will be glad you did.

Spraying

The orchard needs attention.  Peaches and nectarines should be sprayed with a fungicide to prevent leaf curl. Spraying a dormant oil on the fruit trees will help control several insects later in the year.

Other Fun Stuff to do Outside in February

It’s the perfect time to propagate trees and shrubs through hardwood cuttings and tidy up unoccupied bluebird houses. (Image credit: University of New Hampshire Extension; NC Cooperative Extension)

Perennials can be divided as we head into spring.  Do it before the above-mentioned monsoons. Read up on it now and be ready.

Many landscape plants can be propagated via hardwood cuttings this time of the year.  Some of the plants in the category are crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp.), flowering quince (Chaenomoles spp.), junipers (Juniperus spp.), spiraea (Spiraea spp.) and weigelia (Weigelia spp).

Bluebirds will be most appreciative of a thorough house cleaning before the spring nesting season.  Remove all the old nesting materials and let them start afresh.  It’s like clean linens for them.

Oh, yeah.  Lest we forget…order flowers or other living things from the plant kingdom for your significant other.  Just for the record, guys like flowers and plants, too.  Happy Valentine’s Day, Y’all. Think positive thoughts about an early spring sans late freezes.

Resources and Additional Information

Learn what vegetables to start now on the blog from Master Gardener volunteer Kathryn Hamilton: https://wp.me/p2nIr1-2F1

Prune like a pro with this guide from NC State Extension: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/general-pruning-techniques

From Clemson Cooperative Extension, learn more about providing for bluebirds through nest boxes: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/providing-for-bluebirds-guidance-for-bluebird-nest-box-establishment-in-south-carolina/

Edited by Melinda Heigel, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

Article Short Link: https://wp.me/p2nIr1-70W

The Budding Orchardist: Rescue Pruning a Neglected Pear Tree

On By durhammastergardenersIn Briggs Avenue Community Garden Teaching Orchard, fruit production, fruit trees, gardening, pruning, pruning fruit trees, Uncategorized

By Jeff Kanters, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

–Socrates

(Image credit: Jeff Kanters)

When counseling visitors on managing fruit trees at Briggs Avenue Community Gardens Teaching Orchard, I was occasionally asked about how to prune an older neglected fruit tree to a more manageable size. Typically, a homeowner had inherited a large, gnarly, tangled tree left from the previous homeowner or may have left a tree unmanaged over years.

Late fall of 2024 I had the opportunity to provide onsite consultation to a PTA volunteer crew at Hope Valley Elementary School seeking to renovate an older, 25-foot tall, neglected, unsightly Kieffer pear (Pyrus communis ‘Kieffer’) tree in a courtyard being re-landscaped.

Image of a Kieffer pear tree (Pyrus communis ‘Kieffer’) in bloom and closeup of its late-spring flowers. (Image credit: Gary Owens CC BY 2.0)

Researching the Tree

So what is a Kieffer pear? Kieffer pears are the result of an accidental cross between the Sand pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) native to Asia, and the common American Bartlett pear (Pyrus communis) during the 1860s. While it is often recommended to have two pear trees to produce the most fruit per cross-pollination, Kieffer pears, with their Asian ancestry, are self-fertile, meaning they are not as dependent on another pear nearby to cross-pollinate and set fruit. Kieffer pears are also very disease resistant.

Evaluating the Tree

To get started we inspected the tree, and observed the following:

  • Overall, the core trunk bark appeared intact and healthy.
  • The tree bore many pears during the past season and many large overripe pears were still hanging from the top upper most canopy as unreachable to harvest.
  • Numerous dead and broken, large, jagged limbs protruded at the base of the tree and from along the lower trunk opening the tree up to disease.
  • Rather than one central leader trunk, three competing leaders were all growing up close together and the crotch angles where the leaders grew from the core lower trunk were very narrow, and therefore weak and prone to splitting off from the tree during high winds.
  • Many of the older limbs had tall branches or whips growing directly upward, inward toward the trunk, downward to the ground, and crossing over each other. Pears are one of the more unruly fruit trees to manage with their tendency to wildly send new growth upward in columnar fashion and scaffold branching to grow out every which way. When the tree was leafed out, this would result in shading the interior of the tree reducing air circulation and inviting diseases.

Kieffer pear before start of first pruning. (Image credit: Debra Pilkington)

Developing a Plan

To complete the tree rehabilitation, we set up the following phased three-year corrective pruning plan:

  1. To begin, prune out about one third of the tree growth this first season. Since the tree was old,  taking too much would shock the tree and force unwanted, uncontrolled, excessive new branch growth the next season, making the canopy prone to sunburn and diseases. The team would follow this same method for the next three seasons to gradually reduce the tree height and shape.
  2. Prune out all dead, diseased, and broken limbs and branches.
  3. Prune out the branches growing upward, downward, inward, and crossing over into each other.
  4. Select the largest central leader from the multiple leaders and remove the other smaller competitive leaders, thus leaving only one. This would also open the center of the tree to more air and sunlight.
  5. After several years of corrective pruning, and bringing the top canopy down further, the rejuvenated tree should only require more manageable pruning, maintenance, and harvesting each year thereafter.

Identifying the Tools for the Job

Undertaking a project of this size required a team and key tools that included:

  1. Ladder
  2. Small battery powered hand chainsaw or small and large pruning saw, rather than a chain saw (Note of caution: No one should be alone and use any chain saw without the proper training, supervision, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
  3. Telescopic saw and loppers
  4. Hand loppers
  5. Standard hand pruning shears
  6. Safety helmet or head covering
  7. Safety goggles
  8. Gloves
  9. Non-snag clothing
  10. Heavy duty canvas pants
  11. Heavy work boots or chainsaw boots with protective guarding at front instep

Kieffer pear during first pruning. (Image credit: Jeff Kanters)

Phase one pruning was successfully completed. One experienced volunteer opted to use his handheld battery-operated chain saw for removal of a few of the larger limbs. A large pruning saw would also have sufficed.

Kieffer pear at completion of first phase of pruning. (Image credit: Jeff Kanters)

Considering This Type of Project in the Home Landscape

If you are considering undertaking a renewal project of this type in your home landscape, keep the following in mind. Depending on the size of the tree, what limbs or branches need to be removed, and your skill at pruning, it may be safest and best to hire a trained, reputable, experienced arborist to make initial key cuts on the tree. You can supervise, but let professionals handle the most heavy-duty work. If you choose to do it yourself, you should have a few helpers on hand. Projects of this size should not be left to one person to perform alone.

If you use a ladder, as the ground is typically never flat around a tree, no one should be alone on the ladder, but rather have another spotter below holding the ladder for that person.

A last thought. While it may be a worthwhile project, before you consider rescue-pruning a large overgrown fruit tree, ask yourself a few questions:

  • Is the tree viable, free of disease overall, and producing good fruit yet?
  • Is tree worth the expense, effort, time, and risk to prune back?
  • Would it be better to have the tree completely removed and replaced with a small young tree you can manage better from the outset?

Whatever your decision, rehabilitating an old fruit tree is something that can be done successfully.

Resources and Additional Information

Training and Pruning Fruit Trees in North Carolina:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/training-and-pruning-fruit-trees-in-north-carolina

How to Prune Neglected Apple Trees, Iowa State University Extension:

https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/how-prune-neglected-apple-trees#:~:text=Prune%20out%20all%20dead%2C%20diseased,over%202%20or%203%20years.

Pruning to Renovate Old Fruit Trees, Penn State Extension:

https://extension.psu.edu/home-gardening-pruning-to-renovate-old-fruit-trees

Operating a Chainsaw:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/chainppe.htm

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox:

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pyrus-communis-kieffer

Article Short Link: https://wp.me/p2nIr1-5EE