What to Plant in February: A Monthly Planting Guide

It may only be February, but you can already start this year’s garden! Planting these crops now will give you a head start on your gardening season and help combat the winter blues.

Some people will have the ability to start seeds earlier than others based on their climate and gardening setup. Whether you live in California or Texas, Maine or Michigan, you may be surprised to learn which vegetable seeds, flowers, and herbs you can start in February.

Let’s talk about what to plant in February so you can grow bigger!

A Good Garden Plan

Before you plant the first seed, create a garden plan. A garden plan will increase your chances of success and your enjoyment of the garden. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail!

A good garden plan will help you determine which varieties to start early and when. This is especially important when starting a new garden or deciding which type of garden to grow.

This blog post, and the rest in the series of monthly planting guides, will help you properly time when to start seeds.

• Winter Sowing
• What to Plant in March
• What to Plant in April
• What to Plant in May
• What to Plant in June
• What to Plant in July
• What to Plant in August
• What to Plant in September

Benefits of Starting Your Garden Early

You heard right, I am starting seeds in February! Many of you are asking for recommendations on what you can start right now, too.

You may be worried about starting seeds in February, especially if you live in the north, because spring seems so far away. But with good planning, you can enjoy the benefits of getting a head start.

When you start your garden early, you will enjoy fresh produce sooner. Plus, it allows more time for succession sowing, which prolongs the harvest.

Starting seeds indoors gives you more control over early spring growing conditions, which can increase your chances of success. It also allows you to lengthen your growing season, and that is particularly valuable when starting perennial plants and slow-to-mature varieties.

What to Plant in February

February is a great time for gardening. It's a good time to start veggies that love cold spring weather, summer flower varieties, perennial plants, and slow growing vegetables and herbs. I even started three root crops in February!

Flowers to Start in February

We have so many beautiful flowers in the MIgardener Cut Flower Collection! The following list are summer flowering varieties that benefit from starting early.

• Snapdragons - Snapdragons are notorious for their long growing time. They mature in 110 to 120 days before beginning to flower.

• Poppies -Poppy seeds need to be cold-stratified before planting. After the seeds sprout, they can be moved into seed starting cells. (Here’s more information about cold stratification and step-by-step instructions for cold-stratifying seeds.)

• Statice - If you want to enjoy your blooms longer into the season, start statice now. It can take 110-120 days to mature.

• Dahlias - As you cut dahlias, they continue to grow and produce all summer long! If you give dahlias long enough to grow, they will form tubers that you can save to grow next year. Here’s more information on how to grow beautiful dahlias.

• Lavender - Just like poppies, lavender needs to be cold stratified for up to 5 weeks. Then, it takes up to 30 days for them to germinate and another 85 to 90 days for them to mature! It is important to give them time to establish a root system that will allow them to survive the winter.

• Violas & Pansies - These don’t take long to germinate, but they do like cold weather. It’s a good idea to start them early so you can plant them early before the weather gets too warm.

• Bells of Ireland - In my opinion, Bells of Ireland is one of the most beautiful cut flowers! Long stems covered with bright green bell-shaped blooms will even hold their shape when dried. These take up to 20 days to germinate and 100 days to mature, so it is essential to start them early.

• Larkspur - Reaching heights of 3-4 feet, these elegant plants feature densely packed spikes of delicate blooms in shades of pink, blue, purple, and white.

• Mexican Mint Marigold - With a sweet, honeysuckle-like smell, Mexican Mint marigolds don’t smell like traditional marigolds. They take up to 15 days to sprout and grow slowly.

Starting these in February will lengthen the time you can enjoy their beauty and cut flowers! Make sure to use a good quality seed starting mix, like Pro-Mix, to start these flower seeds.

Fruits, Vegetables, & Herbs to Start in February

If you don’t have the space or setup to start seeds indoors, don’t worry! It is a luxury that is not necessary for successful gardening.

As a matter of fact, some plant varieties prefer being directly sown outdoors. Here is a blog post where you can learn which crops thrive when winter sown in the garden in December, January, or February (depending on your climate).

But if you’re ready to learn how to start seeds indoors, the following list is the crops that I highly recommend starting early for success. These crops typically take much longer to germinate and grow to maturity.

As a general rule, any plant that is a perennial in your zone you should plan to start very early so it has time to get established. Start these early so you don’t miss out:

• Moringa - Moringa is a superfood celebrated for its wonderful health benefits, including immune support, anti-inflammatory properties, and combating malnutrition. Moringa is used in teas, smoothies, and various culinary dishes. (160-170 days to maturity)

• Artichoke - Taking a long time to mature, artichokes are a perennial in zones 7 through 10. In zones 4, 5, and 6, you’ll need to start them in February to get a harvest.

• Yellow Wonder Strawberry - This Alpine strawberry takes 150 days to mature and is a perennial through zone 4.

• Peppers - Peppers form in flushes. This means they flower and form peppers, wait until the fruit is harvested or falls off, and then grow and flower again. This process is repeated, producing more peppers. If you start them growing sooner, you can harvest more flushes of peppers. Typically, the third flush yields the largest harvest. In zone 6, I start my peppers in February to allow enough time to harvest three flushes of peppers.

• Asparagus - Asparagus is a perennial (zone hardy up to zone 3) that needs plenty of time to establish a root system so it can survive the winter. It takes 2 to 3 years for asparagus to fully mature. Pro-Tip: Make sure you do your research and choose an asparagus variety that will do well in your climate.

• Onions - All onions should be started in February (at least here in Michigan). If you want to grow large onions, like Ailsa Craig Onions, you must start them early. An onion gets larger the more leaves it grows because each leaf creates another ring on the onion root. Use this complete growing guide to learn how to grow onions!

• Celery - Celery takes 100 to 120 days to mature. If you want to grow actual celery stalks instead of just cutting celery (which is when you trim off and eat the leaves) you need to get it started early!

• Rosemary & Marshmallow - You don’t have to start these perennial herbs early, but you will get more yields and a better chance of them surviving the winter if you do. These herbs are both tender perennials, a crop that can survive most winters, unless it becomes too harsh.

• Spearmint - Mints of any kind are slow to grow, so you want to get them started as soon as possible. Pro-Tip: Plant these in a pot or container. You’ll thank me later. Please don’t plant them directly in the garden, or they will spread out of control!

• Hyssop - Pollinators like hummingbirds, honey bees and butterflies love hyssop! It is used to make tea.

• Spilanthes - These teeny tiny seeds take a long time to grow and get established.

• French Thyme - Start any type of thyme now as well. The more time you allow thyme to grow, the bigger and healthier it will be.

• Lemongrass - Native to the Phillipines and other tropical climates, lemongrass takes a really long time to grow and get up to size.

I trust Bootstrap Farmer for my seed starting supplies because they are high-quality and will last a lifetime. I sowed these seeds in Bootstrap Farmer 72-cell seed starting trays or Bootstrap Farmer 128-cell trays with Extra Strength no-hole trays below them.

Root Crops to Start in February

You may be surprised to learn that some root crops, like ginger, can be started and grown at home. The three root crops that I recommend starting indoors in February are sweet potatoes, ginger, and turmeric.

To start these root crops, you will need two propagation trays, a quality seed starting mix or potting soil, water, and roots of the desired crop. Pro-Tip: Believe it or not, you can purchase these roots from the grocery store. Be sure to purchase organically grown roots to avoid sprout inhibitors and chemicals.

1. Fill a Tray with Rich Soil - Get a propagation tray and fill it with good quality seed starting mix.

2. Moisten the Soil - Moisten the soil with water until it is damp but not so wet that you can wring water out of it by squeezing it.

3. Add the Root Crops - Lay the organic sweet potatoes, ginger root, or turmeric on their sides in the soil, buried halfway.

4. Cover the Tray - Flip the second propagation tray upside down and use it to cover the filled tray.

5. Watch For Sprouts - You should start to see sprouts in 2 to 3 weeks. At that point, you can plant them in the garden. They will grow throughout the warm season.

Watch the video above for more details!

How to Know When to Plant in Your Area

Are you thinking of planting varieties that aren’t on the above lists? The information you need to know for timing seed starting is your average last frost date.

Calculate the best time to start your seeds by counting backward from the last estimated frost date the designated number of weeks specified on the seed packet of the variety you are sowing.

I also recommend using Clyde’s Garden Planner. It is a helpful tool in all climates for gauging the best time to sow seeds indoors and outdoors, when to expect your first harvest, and more.

Garden Tasks in February

If you haven’t already, make sure to order your garden seeds! The MIgardener seed catalog contains over 760 heirloom seed varieties spanning herbs, flowers, vegetables, and fruits.

After starting the seeds listed above, now is a good time to organize your seed collection with the best seed storage containers. February is also a good time to prune woody plants and fruit trees in most climates.

I hope you learned something new and enjoy starting some of these varieties in February!