The irises and crocuses are beginning to emerge.

Like most gardeners, this fills me with both excitement and anxiety with a capital Aam I already behind?

Youre not, because February is the time to catch up.

By the time we talk next month, well be deep in seeding season.

Start by pruning any fruit trees and shrubs you havent gotten to yet.

Prune and train your grapes, and prune back your fall-bearing raspberries.

Check with your garden center to see if its time to prune summer-bearing raspberries and other cane fruit.

If youre planting fruit trees or shrubs this year, the window is now open.

Its also the right time to relocate any trees or shrubs that might do better elsewhere.

you’re free to start planting rhubarb, too.

Once youre done with the structural work above, its time to think about fertilizing all that fruit.

I urge you to start considering strawberries.

If youre up for the challenge, consider cloche-ing or wrapping your strawberries to encourage an early fruiting.

Just letting them grow without any pruning or training can result in scraggly and crooked vines.

Consult aguideto pruning roses, sterilize your pruning clippers, and wear arm protection.

All roses will benefit from fertilizer as well.

Find slow release fertilizer and spread it around your shrubs.

Dividing gives plants more space to grow, more ability to absorb nutrients, and allows roots to flourish.

They’re also two plants for the price of one.

Now is the ideal time to dig into those herbaceous perennials and divide those suckers and relocate.

To do so, dig up the entire plant, generously going around the root ball.

You want each division to have at least three shoots.

Now, this isnt forallperennials, but the fall blooming perennials.

This includes grasses and plants like euphorbia.

The beneficial insects that are using the leaves and stems to hibernate arent ready to exit quite yet.

Youll want to wait until closer to summer.

In the meantime, those leaves and stems are becoming useful mulch and compost.

Prune winter blooming plants

Remember, you prune plants after they’ve bloomed.

Even late summer and fall bloomers like clematis can be pruned back now.

What can definitely go in the ground now are pea seeds, including sweet peas and edible pea pods.

it’s possible for you to start ginger and turmeric inside.