This January has been exceptionally warm. After a cold December many plants are likely to come out of their dormancy in a rush. This can present issues if there are more hard frost days in our future. And at such an early point in the season this seems likely. I have left the frost damage foliage intact on the more susceptable perennials in the hope that the cover provided by the burnt leaves will protect the core of the plants. I will shear them in order of their vulnerability to the frost and relative to how much they have sprouted.
January
is a busy month in the garden. The most important task to complete
this month is the annual rose pruning.
Any later and the plants have often started to sprout out lots of new
growth. The main purpose is to clear away diseased material.
Dead leaves should be picked up and the ground covered with a fresh dose
of mulch to seal in the fungal spores. Much of the introduction of
the disease organisms to the plants comes from splashing raindrops.
Cleanliness matters for the more disease prone roses. I refrain from
any pesticide or fungicide spraying unless the bugs are just too thick for
the plants to survive. Fungicide does a better job of killing the
beneficial organisms than the bad guys. And then you just have to
keep using it to keep the disease at bay. Planting fungal resistant
varieties and only planting in sunny areas that do not get mist from the
sprayers will minimize the problems.
Once the roses are completed fruit tree pruning
is in earnest. Peach trees will often start blooming here in January
so I get them first. Some of the apples, like the Anna
Apple and Dorsett Golden are pretty early too. Apricots next and
plums are about the last to be pruned.
Bare root planting, this is the time. As
soon as the nurseries move out the Christmas stuff they bring in the bare
root plants. January is the best time to establish a bare root
plant. And the best economy for plants in general. If the
plant can be bought bare root and planted now, do it. Roses, fruit
trees, and fruiting vines are the regulars in the bare root section.
Strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus and artichokes can be found now too.
This has been a great rain year so far, in some
places too great. The ample rain has provided a good visual for
where the drainage problems are. I have spent much of my time
correcting these problems. Gopher and squirrel holes often provide a
route for the water to erode underground, often collapsing banks and
slopes. Closing up the runs along drainage zones helps keep the
water where it belongs.
I do a lot of dormant pruning of perennials,
starting this month. In colder areas I wait a bit, but as the worst
frost usually occurs in the weeks around the new year I can get started on
these tasks in late January.
Dahlias, Gladiolus and quite a few other bulbs
can be planted at this time.
Fertilizer does little besides turn the rivers
green and later the ocean red if it is used now. The plants just
won't use the nitrogen and it is water soluble so it goes down the drain.
Mulch on the other hand is always a good thing in the garden. While
it has little nutritional value of its own the mulch will provide a
habitat for a host of soil organisms. And every one of them eats,
and then does that other stuff too. And the plants will be thankful
for the tilling as well as the meal.
2007
Now that much of the State
has suffered from a record or near record cold event it seems appropriate
to talk about what to do with all of those plants that look like they are
dead. Fortunately many will come back. For those plants that
would normally receive winter pruning, prune away. For those plants
that suffered unexpectedly from such a harsh event, it is best to wait
until the plants start to show signs of recovery. Many will come
back from branches that look like they are dead today. The second
and third nights of this freeze received much more damage than the first because
so much of the protecting foliage had already been damaged. Removing
the standing dry foliage now will expose the branches to that much more
frost, kind of adding insult to injury. I realize that this patience
is not reasonable for all properties. On commercial sites and show
properties, I start pruning as reasonably as I can from the start.
The dead foliage on these properties is too much of a detriment to allow
it to linger.
January
is a busy month in the garden. The most important task to take care
of this month is the annual rose pruning.
Any later and the plants have often started to sprout out lots of new
growth. The main purpose is to clear away diseased material.
Dead leaves should be picked up and the ground covered with a fresh dose
of mulch to seal in the fungal spores. Much of the introduction of
the disease organisms to the plants comes from splashing raindrops.
Cleanliness matters for the more disease prone roses. I refrain from
any pesticide or fungicide spraying unless the bugs are just too thick for
the plants to survive. Fungicide does a better job of killing the
beneficial organisms than the bad guys. And then you just have to
keep using it to keep the disease at bay. Planting fungal resistant
varieties and only planting in sunny areas that do not get mist from the
sprayers will minimize the problems.
Fruit
tree pruning is in earnest. Peach trees will often start blooming
here in January so I get them first. Some of the apples, like Anna
and Dorsett Golden are pretty early too. Apricots next and plums are
the last to be pruned.
Bare root
planting, this is the time. As soon as the nurseries move out the
Christmas stuff they bring in the bare root plants. If you want the
best time to establish a bare root plant. And the best economy for
plants in general. If the plant can be bought bare root and planted
now, do it. Roses, fruit trees, and fruiting vines are the regulars
in the bare root section. Strawberries, rhubarb and artichokes can
be found now too.
With so little rain, I
have had to turn many of the sprinkler systems back on. The plants
need less than a quarter the amount of watering time that they do in the
summer. Due to the cold nights the plants just don't use much water.
Fertilizer
does little besides turn the rivers green and the ocean red if it is used
now. The plants just won't use it so it goes down the drain.
Mulch on the other hand is always a good thing in the garden. While
it has little nutritional value of its own the mulch will provide a
habitat for a host of soil organisms. And every one of them eats,
and then does that other stuff too. And the plants will be thankful
for the tilling as well as the meal.
