I learned years back not to write this bit on a pretty day without first checking the weather forecast for Sunday’s publish day. The weather is not so great today according to midweek predictions.

But back here on Wednesday it’s all sun with a bearable breeze. And we had two good days last week. So us herbage types have pruned trees and roses, mowed down the monkey grass and attacked winter weeds, right? Maybe, maybe not.

The last third of calendar winter is ideal for gearing up for spring. There is still ample time for pruning woody stem perennials like fruit trees and shade trees. Just don’t cut back shrubs grown for their early spring blooms like azaleas, forsythia and the like. If those need pruning, which is not mandatory, do it right after bloom.

As for lirope, aka monkey grass, as well as ornamental grasses like miscanthus and pampas, cut clumps back before the new growth come out. Once tips have emerged, we can still cut the old growth down by cutting higher than the new growth. Actually, the grasses and lirope will live on without cutting back. The new leaves will eventually hide the dead stuff sometime over in the summer. But they’re prettier sooner with a winter cutting.

I know I have figuratively “beat to death” the subject of cool season weeds, but I’ll try a different approach. First, make use of nice winter days to dig up weeds. This works especially well for clumps of weeds in flowerbeds and the vegetable garden.

From here on out the clovers, henbit, chickweed and annual bluegrass are going to grow like crazy towards blooming and making seeds before croaking. The smaller they are dug, the easier tilling and mulching and such will be later on.

Another angle on winter weeds is spot spraying with the non-selective herbicide glyphosate, typically called by its original trade name Roundup. One way to spot spray and keep the herbicide on target it to rig up a shield for a typical pump-up sprayer.

Use a container such as one of the thin plastic pots new plants come in. Remove the screw-on cap on the sprayer tip. Turn the pot upside down and cut a hole in the bottom that is barely smaller than the threaded tip on the sprayer wand. Push or twist the tip through the hole. Reach inside the pot, and screw the cap back on and adjust it so it sprays a circular pattern without hitting the inside of the pot. Practice with water on the driveway to get the spray pattern right.

Now you can walk amongst beds and gardens and set the reversed pot shield over weeds and spray. Just give each weed a very quick pull on the sprayer “trigger.” Only the herbicide mixture that stays on the leaves will do any good. And be careful with your drip. Keep the pot shield over mulch, concrete and other dead stuff as you walk.

February is for gardening; let’s go.

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Terry Rector writes for the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, 601-636-7679 ext. 3.