University of California
Master Gardeners of Shasta County
North Valley Gardening
January
Hey it's a good day to Garden!
- Turn the compost pile, clean up and rake leaves around your garden (rake the fallen leaves and discard them as many disease organisms persist through the winter. Covering them up with new mulch will not solve your disease problems.)
- Plant Bare Root Fruit trees
- Time for spraying of your fruit trees for disease prevention, now and again before bud break (February 14 or so)
- Separate and transplant California Native Iris, Prune Roses and make cutting from the scions, rake the fallen leaves and discard them as many disease organisms persist through the winter. Covering them up with new mulch will not solve your disease problems.
- Continue to plant spring flowering bulbs.
- Think water garden and have it ready for spring. There are numerous sources of information and construction materials for these type projects. Garden centers and mass merchandising garden stores are handling pool liners, pumps, and aquatic plants.
- Continue planting container grown ornamentals. Be sure to loosen the roots and the media before backfilling. For slightly pot bound roots: Cut on 3 or 4 sides, shake the roots and media to a loose condition and then plant.
- Do a soil test and adjust as necessary. For best results in home landscapes, till the lime or sulfur into the root zone area for whatever plant you intend to grow. Surface applied lime reacts very slowly, and not as completely as lime mixed into the soil. The sooner the lime is applied in the winter, the more ready you'll be for spring planting.
- Ornamental Grass tops should be cut back now. On old established clumps prune back to 2' or so, with the younger plantings simply tipped back to remove the brown foliage.
- Pansies are by far the most popular winter landscape annual. Deadhead periodically to ensure more blooms. During active growth in the spring fertilize them about once a month. A dilute liquid feed of 5:10:10 or 5:10:30 will keep them going and growing.
- Be prepared just on the chance there may actually be some more winter weather ahead of us. Don't let unseasonably mild temperatures dictate what you do in the landscape.
- Plan your spring and summer vegetable garden and start seeds at the end of the month indoors.