Mistake #3: Poor substrate and over-fertilization.
The third pitfall is standard potting soil, which suffocates the roots. Orchids require a special, very airy substrate based on bark in a well-draining pot. The expert also warns: "Be careful with over-fertilizing, as this can burn the orchid's roots and affect its growth. Use a balanced, orchid-specific fertilizer at half strength and apply it only once a month during the growing season." Repotting every two to three years after flowering, removing any dead roots, helps the plant recover.
Monty Don: These 4 tasks you absolutely mustn't forget in February for a garden bursting with life in spring. For Monty Don, February should no longer be a dead month but the true beginning of the garden. The BBC Gardeners' World expert focuses on 4 key tasks to
awaken
flowerbeds and vegetable gardens.
February has a bad reputation among gardeners: cold, muddy, and uninviting. Yet for Monty Don, a prominent British gardener who cultivates a large garden at Longmeadow on neutral clay soil very similar to that of many French gardens, it's the time when the garden begins to awaken. In his view, this unassuming month determines much of what spring will bring.
In his seasonal advice, the celebrity gardener warns that letting February pass without taking action is costly in terms of flowers and harvests: "Prepare now, or the season won't be able to make up for lost time," cautioned Monty Don, as quoted by My Jugaad. He summarizes February's gardening tasks into four key areas to help the garden truly come alive.
February, a key month as seen by Monty Don.
For him, February is less a dead month than a launching pad. Each slightly milder day allows for soil preparation, finishing bare-root plantings, and starting the first sowings under cover. "February rewards those who take action: a garden ahead of schedule, bountiful harvests, and flowers in abundance," summarizes Monty Don, convinced that all this quiet work will be evident in the flowerbeds in April.
His priorities are clear: first task, prune key shrubs and repair tired stakes or trellises; second task, start sowing tomatoes, peppers, rocket, broad beans under cover and pre-germinate potatoes; third task, plant bare-root trees and hedges or move shrubs that are suffering; fourth task, mulch and enrich the soil with sifted compost.
February pruning and sowing to get a head start
. The first task is to give the garden a clean, structured look. In late winter, Monty Don advises pruning roses, clematis, and buddleias that bloom on new wood, removing dead wood and shortening stems above a strong bud. He also suggests tightening ties, replacing damaged stakes, and straightening bent supports.
The second task takes place indoors, protected from the cold. Sowing tomatoes and peppers under cover requires constant warmth and light, with very well-draining potting soil and never any standing water or watering after 5 p.m. Arugula tolerates cooler conditions better, provided it is spaced 15 to 23 cm apart. Monty Don also sows broad beans in double rows and starts pre-germinating potatoes in light-filled trays, in a cool but frost-free location.
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