Fresno Gardening Green

Plan now for New Year's resolutions for the garden. Check gardening books for ideas. Tasks Spray apricots and walnuts with horticultural oil and fixed copper. Provide frost protection. Move or cover tender plants. Use floating row covers or fabric, and uncover plants during the day.

Hairy vetch is going strong this winter in a small planting bed at the UC Master Gardener's Garden of the Sun, a demonstration garden in central Fresno. Hairy vetch, common vetch, sweet clover and crimson clover are types of green manure.

Tasks Remove fallen camellia blossoms promptly to prevent petal blight on next year's flowers. Mistletoe is very difficult to control because reinfestation occurs from nearby infected trees. An infected branch must be removed at its points of origin and at least 1 foot below the cluster.

Like so many Australian natives, emu bush (Eremophila glabra) is both heat and drought tolerant and a great plant for our area. Hummingbirds absolutely love it, and it's an excellent choice for any water wise garden, either in a mixed border or mass planted as a ground cover.

Walk through the garden and make notes for spring and summer changes and additions. Enjoy the quiet of the winter garden. Feed the birds, and other wildlife. Tasks Apply pre-emergent herbicide to lawns and beds later this month. Deep-water trees and native plants if rainfall has been light.