A perennial favorite is getting ready to bloom in Portland: the hellebore! If you’ve recently purchased a home, keep an eye out for these low-to-the-ground flowers this month. Popular in Portland as an early spring bloom, you might be lucky to find some in your new garden.
These long lived plants’ best season is when they bloom in February through April with a variety of white, purples and pinks. Once they’ve bloomed, the foliage tends to blend into the garden until the following year.
Now’s the time: cut last year’s leaves
For tentative gardeners I like to mention that if you do nothing, they will survive, so don’t worry. To give them an extra boost, now is the time to cut off any older, mature leaves, to encourage new growth: as new flowers emerge, cutting off old foliage will encourage new growth, showcase flowers, and help prevent disease and pests. The plant in the image above shows the new growth with old leaves removed.
Second task- check out your roses!
One more task for early spring is to prune your roses. In this City of Roses, I find that many homes come with a rose (or a dozen) and new homeowners aren’t sure how to care for them.
When pruning, remove any tiny stems (smaller in diameter than a pencil). Another rule of thumb is to reduce the height of the plant by 1/3. You’ll be looking to create a shape like a cup, or an upturned hand, so trim off extra inward-facing canes. Lastly, cut an an angle, and look for new leaf buds, which will ideally face outward (think “cup like shape”).
For either job, always use clean, sharp pruners, and for roses it’s recommended to wash the pruning shears between uses, (or between plants) with soap and water to avoid spreading any disease.
Now is a great time to embark on these two small garden tasks: they take a just a few minutes and will provide an outdoor winter break.
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