Fresno Gardening Green

Make some shopping expeditions to your favorite nurseries to select water-conserving trees, shrubs, and perennials. Tasks Inspect trees for die-back and weak limbs, which are common in drought-stressed plants, and remove them before they become a safety hazard.

Snails and slugs are among the most damaging pests in landscapes and gardens, including the UC Master Gardeners Children's Garden, part of the Garden of the Sun.

Tasks Sharpen tools to make cleaner cuts. Clean and maintain pruning equipment. Keep weeds under control remove or kill weeds before they mature and produce seeds. Pruning Deadhead winter annuals to prolong bloom.

As of the writing of this blog at the end of January, the Fresno/Clovis/Madera region has received only 2.79 inches of rain so far this water season, less that 25 percent of the yearly average of 11.01 inches.

Try grafting new fruit tree varieties onto your existing trees. Fruit of the same species are easily grafted together - peach onto peach, plum onto plum. Tasks Irrigate citrus and almonds at night if frost is expected.