February valentine: Forced bulbs requite the gardening heart! Flocks of robins are stripping the berries from hollies around the house. Many winters we see them earlier, in January. It’s interesting that they appear to prefer the fruits of the native Ilex opaca to the nearby, heavy-bearing hybrid ‘Nellie R. Stevens.’
The Snow Moon on Feb. 1 produced scenery that recalled lines from “The Night Before Christmas”: “The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow/ Gave a lustre of midday to objects below.”
Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, when “half your wood and half your hay” should remain, was sunny and clearing: six more weeks.
February generally contains many sunny days. However, the signs already delivered on the ground, by weather, and by prognosis are that more wintry weather lies ahead.
Weed of the year: English ivy
English ivy occupies a special spot in many peoples’ minds and gardens. There is no question: It is a handsome and versatile evergreen plant, which makes it widely planted. Ivy becomes even more widely planted, however, when left to its own devices. This leads to problems. Visit this descriptive page to learn why ivy is my weed of the year: bit.ly/DE_EnglishIvy.
One of the interesting aspects of ivy (Hedera helix) is its dimorphism. In the American Heritage Dictionary, ivy is the definition of this botanical trait: “The occurrence of two distinct forms of the same parts in one plant, as in the juvenile and adult leaves of ivy.”
As a young plant, ivy sports its classic leaf form and behavior: the star-shaped, mottled foliage, the clinging adventitious rootlets that enable crawling up any convenient surface, the elegant tendrils that captivate in containers and window boxes.
Once ivy achieves its adult form, its leaves transform into spade shapes with rounded edges, branches begin to grow outward, and clusters of chartreuse, nectar-rich flowers appear. Once pollinated, these in turn become bluish-black berries, much sought after by birds.
Over time, and it does not take long, baby ivies appear everywhere the birds’ droppings land. Since birds are likely to seek the shelter of shrubberies, there in the bushes’ crowns is where the baby ivies start their life journey. Readers may guess where this is headed.
Hedges, topiary hollies, prized conifers — all become hosts for the climbing vines seeking support and photosynthesis. In no time at all, a good-looking hedge may turn into something half hedging and half ivy hedgehog.
Trees hosting vigorous ivy growths are being deprived of photosynthesis, not only when in leaf but also in winter, when their bark plays a significant role in the tree’s physical system. Ivy catches and holds heavy ice and snow; in storms the additional windage may succeed in pulling trees down.
An interesting contradiction is that in the British Isles, where ivy is native, it is considered a major benefit to wildlife. Here, ivy is known as a thug, shading out native plants and destroying woodland.
Cooped poultry
Yay — increasing hours of daylight jump-start hens’ egg-laying. Keeping poultry fed, watered, and healthy is far more challenging in wintry conditions than in moderate ones. Poultry cooped up, days on end, need diversions and ways to groom their plumage. When cooped up, the birds are more prone to pecking-order disputes, and infestations of various lice and mites.
Many a henhouse has caught fire from efforts to keep waterers and eggs from freezing. First, a reminder that chickens usually finish moulting before winter, and grow their own down and fluff. As long as they remain dry, they can keep themselves warm. A dry henhouse is more critical than a heated one, but good ventilation is still required.
However, the large combs of roosters and some poultry breeds may require smearing with petroleum jelly, black ointment, or Bag Balm when nighttime temperatures drop. Scale mites are usually controllable by the same means. After dark, when birds are roosting, is the best time to do it. A puff of diatomaceous earth under each wing is prophylactic too.
Spraying roosts with proprietary products or undiluted vinegar may help control the spread of parasites, bird to bird. Ordinarily, chickens dust-bathe all winter in available dry locations without frozen soil or snow. When poultry must be kept cooped, a dusting box or pile in the corner on the floor helps them maintain their plumage.
Dusting box mixtures include wood ashes, ground limestone, diatomaceous earth, or a combination of these; or even fine, dry soil. A head of cabbage, carrots, turnips, or bag of apples tossed onto the henhouse floor provides diversion. Also, good investments are black rubber buckets and watering pans that take freezing without breaking.
Cold and ticks
Many hope that a more severe winter will reduce the Island tick populations. Maybe, maybe not: These arachnids are very basic organisms, with minimal needs, and are unlikely to disappear due to one cold snap. Read more about ticks and winter at bit.ly/Cornell_tickswinter. In the meantime, remember to do tick checks, and be aware that drenching yourself or your surroundings in pesticides may produce problems down the road.
Be realistic
The talk of eradicating white-tailed deer from the Vineyard fails to take into account all the other warmblooded life here that ticks parasitize: rats, mice, voles, shrews, skunks, rabbits, otters, rabbits, raccoons, birds, coyotes, domestic livestock, squirrels, muskrats, domestic pet animals.
In the garden
Snow cover provides a protected space for small rodents to gnaw at woody plants for sustenance; check them for girdling after it melts.
Old-time farmers used to fertilize on snow’s surface: “As that snow melts, if you do have that fertilizer on, it’s the perfect scenario to basically take it into the soil and make the most of it.”
Order seeds; start flats of seedlings. Sprinkle seed of annual poppies on snow’s surface, and send yourself a valentine deliverable in May.