Rosie-Do List for February: Get outdoors to prepare for spring

In case you missed it, we started a new monthly series called the Rosie-Do List. This list is intended to help homeowners stay up-to-date on routine maintenance in and around the house.

In February, our focus is outdoors.  That’s right; Arizona residents will be spending more and more time in their gardens to get ready for spring.

Here are my recommended areas of focus:

• Give lots of TLC to your roses: Prune your roses by mid-month and mulch them in the late spring. Watch for insects. You’ll also want to transplant roses or plant new ones.

• Check the weather forecast: That’s because as soon as all danger of frost is past, you can prune back the frost damage on plants that took a hit during the winter freezes. It’s also time to give a severe pruning to older plants. That way they can rejuvenate themselves and produce lots of luxuriant new foliage.

• Fertilize, fertilize, fertilize: February is a key month to fertilize all sorts of trees and plants in your yard – nut trees, citrus and stone fruit, grapes, annuals, perennials and ground covers, shrubs and bushes, grapes, annuals and perennials and azaleas and hydrangeas.

• A prime time for vegetable gardeners: You probably already have many crops already in the ground — like lettuce, leeks and cabbages. But in mid-February, you can begin planting beans, cantaloupe, sweet corn, eggplant, tomato plants and basil to name a few favorites.

• Get ready for weeds: As soon as you can, apply pre-emergent to the parts of your yard that are prone to get weedy.

• Repair or repaint outdoor furniture that you want to spiff up before spring: Maybe it’s time to replace some chairs and tables or get new cushions for that outdoor sofa.

• Double check the natural gas or propane connections on your outdoor fireplace and cooking grill. It’s a good time to be sure that everything’s safely attached for our long cookout season.

• Change your irrigation system: As the weather warms up and days lengthen, adjust your irrigation timer to water more frequently.

For more information, DIY tips and information for all the projects around your house, home, castle or cabin, visit Arizona’s largest collection of homeowner DIY advice and information at www.Rosieonthehouse.com.

And if you are in need of a quality contractor you know you can trust, visit our list of Arizona’s very best contractors or service providers for your home improvement projects at RosieontheHouse.com – Arizona’s most trusted Referral Network.

Tune in to KTAR every Saturday morning from 7-11 a.m. for the Rosie on the House broadcast!