What to Plant in February in Zone 5
Here is what you can sow in February if you garden in USDA zone 5. Dates use typical zone 5 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
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Zone 5 in February
February in Zone 5: The Onion Family Goes Under Lights
A few crops start, all from the allium and root family
February hands Zone 5 gardeners a few more crops, and every one of them is an onion relative or a root that wants a long head start. Bulb onions and leeks both need 10 to 12 weeks under lights before they are sturdy enough for a cold frame, so a February 1 start lines them up for a mid-to-late April move outside, well ahead of anyone who waits for outdoor soil to warm. Keep the lights 2 inches above the leaf tips and trim tops back to 3 inches with scissors whenever they flop, which keeps the plant's energy in the roots instead of a floppy top no transplant needs.
Parsnip is the outlier in the group. Its seed loses viability fast, so buy fresh packets every year rather than trusting one from two seasons back, and expect germination to take 3 weeks even in warm soil. Because the taproot hates disturbance, start it in 2-inch cells with two seeds each and snip the weaker seedling at the soil line rather than pulling it, which protects the survivor's root from the forking that shows up at harvest otherwise.
Pruning while the structure is bare
February is also bramble and bush pruning month, done before buds swell. On red raspberry canes, cut every cane that fruited last summer flush to the ground, since those canes are done for good, and thin the remaining first-year canes to one every 6 inches along the row. Blueberry bushes get a lighter hand: remove only wood older than 6 years, cut it at the base, and leave younger stems alone, since blueberries fruit best on 3- to 5-year-old wood.
Working now, while there are no leaves to hide the cuts, makes the whole job take about half the time it would in June, when a tangle of new growth hides which canes are old and which are this year's.
February in zone 5: common questions
What can I plant in February in zone 5?+
In February, USDA zone 5 gardeners can sow Onion, bulb, Parsnip, Leek, Celeriac, Onion. Dates use typical zone 5 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+
Zone 5 is one band of the map, but planting time is set by your local frost dates, not the zone number. Enter your ZIP code in the free planner and it uses your actual frost dates, which can differ by weeks within a single zone.
Are these February planting dates exact?+
They are typical zone 5 windows. Two gardens in the same zone can be a week or two apart because of elevation and local climate, so treat these as a starting point and tune them to your ZIP code with the free planner.