Water? Prune? Pray? Spring hits gardens early

The calendar says February, but Mother Nature is deep into spring, at least for now.

Bulbs are sprouting, people are raking, and trees in some parts of the county are already ready for water.

Bob Balding of Plant Land in Kalispell said his customers are wondering what to make of all these sunny days.

"There's really nothing you can do," he said.

Some people have picked up compost to cover those early-shooting bulbs, but "Mother Nature is going to do whatever she wants to do to those bulbs," Balding said.

If the bulbs mature to blossoms, a freeze will kill the blooms, he said. But a freeze even after sprouting shouldn't kill the bulbs, he said.

Some people are watering and Balding said that if people have bulbs blooming where it's really dry, they should.

Watering in February?

"I've seen this before, but not for this long a stretch," Balding said of sunny, mild days so early in the year.

The main thing tree manager Michael Connolly tells customers at Hooper's Garden Center is "be patient."

The ground has thawed in places in the south part of the valley, he said.

People who didn't water trees last fall should be very prompt about watering now after such a light snowfall this winter. That's especially true for evergreens, but also applies to leaf-bearing trees, Connolly said.

In fact, he said, there's nothing wrong with watering trees while the ground is still frozen.

It's too early and too dry for chemical fertilizers, but natural or organic fertilizers are safe, Connolly said.

This is a good time to prune trees, he said. Birch and maple trees will likely weep a great deal of sap if they're pruned now, he said. Those are best done in mid-July.

But fruit trees, summer-blooming bushes and trees, and other trees can be safely shaped now, Connolly said.

Now that there are four to five hours of temperatures above freezing during the day, some of his customers also are spraying dormant trees for bugs such as aphids, he said.

Balding said plants in his greenhouses are two to three weeks ahead of where they should be. He has been using cooling fans in the greenhouses for all of February and part of January, he said.

Premature spring fever is definitely driving people out of their houses and into their yards and gardens, Balding said.

"It's a great time to start cleaning up," he said.

He's not confident the weather will hold for long, though.

"It could still get to 20 below," he cautioned.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com