We now begin the new year with soggy gardens that have been thirsty for months. Nubbins of daffodils poke up through the mulch as a fierce winter storm beats the garden. January is a wild month. Here is what you can do between storms to make your garden healthy.
Tend roses: Now that roses are beginning to enter their dormant phase, it is time to begin winter work. Pruning, spraying a dormant spray and mulching tops the list. Clean up all fallen petals and leaves before adding fresh mulch.
Plant food: This month, local nurseries begin offering a wide variety of bare root fruit and vegetable plants. Strawberries, cane berries, fruit trees, rhubarb, asparagus and artichokes are available for planting this month and next. Check out the bedding plant section for fresh starts of Asian greens, leaf lettuces and spinach.
Feed: If you have citrus now is the time to begin feeding. Take advantage of the winter rains and begin feeding bee-friendly lawns and ground covers this month and next. Make applications a day before the next soaking rain. What is a bee friendly lawn? It is one that has a smattering of grass, English daisies, dandelions, self-heal and clover. All kinds of pollinators and butterflies love this type of lawn.
Tune up: It won’t be long before the lawn grass really begins growing. Now is the time to take garden power equipment in for inspection and tune up. And if you change over to lithium battery powered garden equipment, you won’t have to do that oily, gassy, noisy thing.
Prune: This month and next is the time to prune fruit trees, cane berries and blueberries. Are your pruners sharp and clean?
Add color: One of the best ways to chase away the winter blues is to pot up some color for porches and patios. Cyclamen, daisies, calendulas, pansies and violas are all hardy plants that give good color during the cold, dreary months.
Terry Kramer is the site manager for the Humboldt Botanical Garden and a trained horticulturist and journalist. She has been writing a garden column for the Times-Standard since 1982. Contact her at terrykramer90@gmail.com.