• Each month topics are organized by general categories, listed alphabetically for your convenience.  
• Individual Care Guides are available for you to print from home. Click on the links or return to our Home Page for a complete listing.

  January Garden Tips from the Wegman Professionals....

ANNUALS

• Time to fertilize annuals. Use Master Nursery Rose & Flower Food or, if you prefer organic, use Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Fertilizer.

• Winter annuals can be planted through late February. For shady spots, try English primrose, fairy primrose, Primula obconica, Cyclamen, Cineraria, and Violas. For sunnier spots, try pansies, Iceland poppies, stock, snapdragons, Calendula, and flowering kale and cabbage. Violas and primroses also do well in sun during the winter.

• For a striking and unique effect, mix some Rainbow chard, red butter lettuce, red and green mixed lettuce and spinach in your bed of annual flowers.

• Sow seeds for Forget-Me-Nots and Sweet Peas directly into the garden.

• Don’t forget to apply Sluggo or Master Nursery Pest-Fighter for Slugs and Snails after planting annuals. Watch for slug and snail damage as winter progresses and continue to bait as needed.

• If an unknown and mysterious creature is eating your sweet peas or Iceland Poppies and there are no tell-tail slug and snail tracks, look for white or gold-crowned sparrows. These little birds will hide in bushes and then dart out to feed on fresh greenery and young vegetables--especially lettuce. If birds are the problem, cover the plants with plastic bird netting until they are about 12 inches tall. After that size, the birds will leave them alone.

BULBS

• Apply Master Nursery Bulb Food when bulbs break ground and again when they finish blooming.

• Summer-blooming bulbs such as gladioli, calla lilies and dahlias will arrive by mid- to late January. We will also have bare-root peonies and a selection of unusual Elephant’s ears, a dramatic foliage plant for moist places.

• Gladiolus should be planted four to six inches apart, in a 'cutting garden' at two week intervals to produce a continuous source of cut flowers. Gladioli don't work very well mixed with annuals or perennials.

• Next year, if you want to prolong your spring bloom, store bulbs in the refrigerator crisper and plant out through late January. You can also plant your narcissi at different depths (to 8 inches deep) and the deeper ones will come up later each year. Click here for a Spring Bulb Care Guide.

FRUITS

• Spray Peaches and nectarines now with Microcop.

• Attend our free Fruit Tree Care and Pruning Demonstration on January 10, 2010 Click here for additional information. Bare-root deciduous fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, pluots, and multiple grafted varieties) are here! For the best selection, come early. Click here to link to our listing of bare-root plants.

HOW TO PLANT A BARE-ROOT FRUIT TREE

Click here to print our Information Sheet

1. Dig a hole about 2 to 3 feet wide and as deep as the longest root so that the graft union remains about 4 - 6 inches above the soil line once the soil has settled.
2. Set soil aside and mix in one-third Bumper Crop or Gold Rush.
3. Place one-half cup starter fertilizer such as Master Nursery Master Start at bottom of hole. Place the bare-root tree into the hole with the graft scar facing east or north. Begin backfilling with soil mix. When about halfway filled, firmly pack soil around roots with foot, but do  not compact! Continue filling.
4. Use extra soil mix to construct a basin (or moat) around the periphery of the hole.
5. Water in if soil is dry.
6. When finished, the topmost roots should be no more than 1 inch below the soil level.
7. If you do not live in deer country, bare-root fruit trees should be pruned to about 2-3 feet tall so that primary scaffold branches develops low and ripe fruit is easily reachable as trees mature. 
8. Bare-root fruit trees have been sprayed with copper before shipping: no need to reapply dormant sprays!

• When hard freezes are expected, protect citrus by tenting with burlap, a blanket or Easy Gardener’s Plant and Seed Blanket. Be sure to keep the cover off foliage to minimize damage to branch tips and flowers. Cloudcover, a polymer that prevents desiccation during frost, protects plants to about 28°F. Pull potted plants under the eves of the house and if you expect a big freeze run an extension cord out into your citrus and put a 60 or 70 watt bulb under the cover and among the branches to provide overnight heat. Be sure to remove the covers first thing in the morning as temperatures rise.

• If you are losing a favorite fruit tree, we may be able to graft part of it onto a new, young tree. We also provide consultation services to help diagnose plant problems, to recommend plantings or make minor landscape plans. Ask us about these services.

• Prune all deciduous fruit trees now through February and spray one time (except peaches and nectarines) with Microcop or Liqui-cop and horticultural oil. Be sure there will be no rain for at least 8 hours after spraying.

• Peach and nectarine trees should be pruned during January, and sprayed for the third and final time at the end of the month. You must use Microcop (80% fixed copper) for peaches and nectarines plus Master Nursery Spray-Grip or Master Nursery Year Round Spray Oil for better adhesion.

• Prune blueberries.

• Prune and tie up all grapes and cane berries (e.g., raspberries and blackberries).

• Bare root strawberries are available, singularly or by the dozen (mix or match) including: Chandler, Seascape and everyone's favorite--Sequoia.  If you plant strawberries, include a clump of Rhubarb.

• Citrus should be pruned late February through March if desired or needed. Check now for scale, a sucking insect that usually clusters along fruit stems, new growth and the underside of leaves. If  found, spray tree with Malathion and with horticultural oil one week later.   Wait two weeks and make another application. Never spray oil more than four times during the growing season. Prune to shape and to remove dead or crossing branches.

• Pick up fallen fruit, remove dried fruit on trees (“mummies”), and rake leaves, placing all debris in trash. Do not compost! Fruits and leaves may harbor overwintering insect pests and fungi. Removing both decreases the incidence and proliferation of pests and diseases the next growing season.

• Fertilize all citrus this month with Master Nursery Citrus Food or for an organic approach use Dr. Earth Fruit Tree Fertilizer.

GROUNDCOVERS

• Slugs and snails are especially abundant and troublesome this time of year, nesting and resting in groundcovers. Baiting now will help minimize extant populations and also minimizes damage in the coming spring. Use Sluggo, safe for pets and people, or Master Nursery Pest-Fighter, available in powder or pellet  form. Avoid snail and slug baits which contain only metaldehyde.

• Wait until February to mow low-growing groundcovers such as ivy and periwinkle (Vinca).

LAWNS

• When planning a lawn around fruit or ornamental trees, remember not to sod or seed within the trees’ dripline. Important feeder roots lay close to the surface of the soil in this zone and are  prone to mechanical damage by digging, mowing and weeding. Additionally, mature trees require less frequent water than most other plants and can become infected with fungal problems when overwatered. Consider redesigning the irrigation system so that trees and turf are completely separate.

• Bluegrass lawns may show yellowing or spots of yellow caused by rust with the onset of rain and wet weather. This should disappear by spring.

• Continue monthly feedings with Master Nursery Fall & Winter Feed for Lawns. The Fall & Winter Feed contains a readily available form of nitrogen not typically found in warm season fertilizers.

• If you haven't done so this year, now is the time to aerate your lawn. Remove the plugs for a neater appearance or leave them if you don't care.

• Set mowers to 2 inches for fescue and bluegrass lawns during the winter and 1-1.5 inches for Bermuda lawns. Consider leaving clippings on lawn. As clippings break down, they provide the lawn with  nutrients, reducing the need for fertilizers by 30-50%. Clippings do not cause thatch. If you leave clippings on lawn, fertilize only every other month.

• If Bermuda lawns are brown, overseed the entire area with annual rye grass. This will give you a green lawn all winter that is replaced by the Bermuda grass again in the spring.

PERENNIALS

• Start mum cuttings at the end of the month.

• Prune evergreen perennials such as Penstemon, Chrysanthemums, lavender and Salvias now, if you haven’t already. If they’re still in color, you can wait to cut back absolutely no later than Valentine"s Day.  Pruning your evergreens keeps them compact and dense. New growth makes the plant appear fresher. Don't prune lavender into bare wood aa it may not recover.

• Ornamental grasses should have been cut back by now. Some folks appreciate the ornamental effect of the dried seed heads through the winter months and those can be cut back as late as Valentine's Day but no later.

• If you pruned or cut back your perennials last month, succulent new growth should begin to appear at the bases of these plants - ripe feasting for slugs and snails! Bait now with Sluggo or Master Nursery Pest-Fighter. Especially vulnerable are perennials such as columbine, Hosta and Delphinium.

ROSES

• Bare-root roses are here! For the best selection, come early. Click here for a complete list of our bare-root roses.

• Roses can be pruned January and into mid-February. Spray with Microcop or Liqui-Cop and horticultural oil before leaves emerge. Attend our free Rose Care and Pruning Demonstration on January17, 2010. Click here for more information.

• If your roses have performed poorly, seem especially disease-prone or just haven’t quite met your expectations, now’s a good time to replace them. Dig out while soil is soft from rain and  replace with bare-root plants. Check underperforming plants for crown gall.

• After pruning and cleaning up your rose beds, sprinkle the area with Concern-Weed Prevention Plus which is mostly corn gluten. Mr. Ed has used this for many years to keep weeds out of the rose beds and provide some slow acting fertilizer.

HOW TO PLANT BARE-ROOT ROSES:

Click here to print our Information Sheet

1. Dig a hole about 2 feet  wide and one foot deep so that the rose crown remains 3-4 inches above the soil line once the soil has settled.
2. Set soil aside and mix in one-third Rose Planting Mix or Gold Rush.
3. Place one-half cup Master Nursery Master Start starter fertlizer at bottom of hole. Build a soil cone at middle of the of hole and tamp firmly. Drape rose roots over the cone and then backfill halfway with soil mix. Then firmly pack soil around roots, but do not compact! Continue filling.
4. Use a product such as Gold Rush or Forest Blend to pile up over the bud union (graft) and leave in place until new buds start to pop out.  When new buds appear, brush the layer off and let it remain as a mulch.
5. Use extra soil mix to construct a basin (or moat) around the periphery of the hole.
6. Water thoroughly.
7. Prune properly before planting if roses have not already been pruned.
8. Bare-root roses have been dipped in a fungicide before being shipped from the grower. No need to apply dormant sprays!

SHRUBS & VINES

• When hard freezes are expected, protect tender shrubs and vines by tenting with burlap, a blanket or Easy Gardener’s Plant and Seed Blanket. Be sure to keep off foliage to minimize damage to branch tips and flowers. Cloudcover, a polymer that prevents desiccation during frost, protects plants to about 28°F.

• Time to prune garden hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla). This species blooms on new growth from one-year old wood - aim your pruning cuts just above the largest pair of buds on this wood. Hydrangea bushes often need to be thinned out by removing some of the old gnarly stems right to the ground. Each year one-quarter to one-third of the stems should be removed to permit new ones to grow.  All stems pencil size or smaller should be removed.  If  powdery mildew has been a problem during the summer months, spray them with Microcop or Liqui-Cop after pruning as a preventative. During the summer spray with sulfur if mildew appears. Click here for our Information Sheet on Hydrangeas.

• To intensify the blue or pink coloration of garden hydrangeas, apply aluminum sulphate (for blue) or Agricultural lime (for pink) in December, January, February, and March. Use oyster shell lime, which contains calcium carbonate, an excellent addition to our soils. Dolomite lime, on the other hand, contains magnesium, of which we already have plenty in our native soils but may be the only form available.

• As camellias begin blooming, you may notice brown splotching on petal margins of open flowers, partly open flowers and flower buds. These are characteristic symptoms of camellia petal blight, a  fungus for which no cure exists. Sanitation is key for reducing symptoms: Remove infected flowers and buds and try to not  let infected petals hit the ground. If they do, gather and place in trash immediately - do not  compost!

• Azaela flower blight has similar symptoms as camellias petal blight, but can be controlled with a fungicide applied before the buds begin to show color.  Use Rose Pride (Fuginex) or Garden Disease Control (Daconil).

• Camellias and Azaleas are coming into bloom so now is the time to select your favorites.  Both are available in one and five gallon sizes.  A few Camellias are available in 15 gallon containers.

• Hardy evergreen shrubs such as rosemary, Escallonia, Abelia, common myrtle, Texas privet, and Pittosporum should be pruned now or by mid-February.

• Evergreen spring-bloomers such as pink jasmine, Hardenbergia, Banks’ rose, Cecile Brunner rose,  breath of heaven, and Leptospermum should be pruned after they bloom.

• Likewise, deciduous winter- or spring-blooming shrubs such as Forsythia, Spiraea, common snowball and flowering fruit trees should be pruned after they bloom.

• Wisteria, on the other hand, should be pruned before it blooms; cut the new whippy, vegetative growth back to within two buds from the main stem. Be sure to leave the fat, elongated buds that will produce flowers.

• Clematis should also be pruned while dormant. Which type of Clematis you grow determines whether you will prune to the ground, halfway to the ground, or simply thin out, as various types bloom on different wood. Consult a source such as the American Horticultural Society’s A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Mr. Ed does not prune his clematis and they bloom quite well.

• Wait to prune tender shrubs and vines such as pink jasmine, potato vine, Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, Abutilon, geraniums, and Fucshia, until mid-February.

• Be sure to rake up leaves from deciduous shrubs, especially those infected with powdery mildew. Discard in trash containers rather than compost piles. Most of our home compost piles reach sufficient temperatures to break down food and yard waste, but they don’t typically reach temperatures (140°F+) required to destroy harmful fungi and bacteria.

TREES

• Bare-root season includes flowering trees, such as flowering plums and cherries, and shade trees, such as European birches. Without container and soil, these trees are easier to plant bare-root and willperform as well as or better than their containerized cousins. To plant, follow directions for planting bare-root fruit trees, listed under FRUITS.

• Our container maple selection will consist of Bloodgood, Bonfire, Burgundy Lace, Fireglow, Emperor I, Oshio Beni,  Red Dragon, Shaina, Seiryu, Shishigashira, Sango Kaku, Crimson Queen, Garnet, Inabe Shidare, Tamukeyama, Viridis, and Waterfall. We are also able to procure rare and unusual cultivars in 1-gallon to specimen sizes.

• A wider than usual selection of deciduous Magnolias will also be available, including: Butterfly, Jane, Nigra, Randy and Magnolea stellata Royal Star.

• Winter’s cool and moist conditions assist conifers to become established more readily than at other times of the year, so now is the best time to shop for and plant large burlap and ball or containerized conifers.

• Be sure to rake leaves from deciduous trees and discard diseased leaves in trash containers rather than compost piles. If leaves are healthy, consider mulching your garden beds with them. Not only does mulch reduce soil compaction during the rainy months, it adds valuable organic material to the soil as it composts directly on the beds. In turn, this organic material conditions our clay soils, improving drainage and making nutrients more accessible.

• Look for broken and torn branches after storms. Prune to healthy tissue, using heading cuts if parts of branches have broken or torn and removing entire branches if needed. Consulting a simple, informative book such as Ortho’s All About Pruning will help you determine where to prune and how to make the proper cut. If severe damage is done to older, mature trees, we strongly encourage you to seek the services of a certified arborist. While you may pay more for their work than you would for a noncertified pruner or gardener, you can be assured that the health and longevity of your trees will not be  compromised by poor practices such as topping and incorrect pruning cuts.

• In both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the olive fruit fly has infested olive trees, rendering fruit unusable for home curing. If you’re thinking of home curing olives, be sure to have fruit checked for maggots. Good News:  Monterey Garden Insect Spray with the active ingredient Spinosad has been used for several years by commercial olive growers to control the olive fruit fly.  It is a fermented bacterial product that is an upgraded B.t. replacement.  It is Organic Materials Review Institute listed and includes fruit trees, coddling moth (apple worms) leaf miners and many others.  The Olive Fruit Fly Trap and Lure should be used so you will know when to apply the Spinosad.

VEGETABLES

• Fertilize winter veggies with Master Nursery Tomato & Vegetable Food or if you prefer organic, Dr. Earth Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer.

• January marks the last month to plant cool season crops, which should be ready for harvest prior to warmer temperatures in spring. Plant cole crops (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.), lettuce, spinach, cilantro, chard, mustard, peas, beets, turnips, rutabagas, and carrots now through the end of the month.

• Continue planting onions and leeks from starts and garlic from cloves.

• Plant seed potatoes as soon as they become available this month.

• Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can be started indoors or in greenhouses in late January. Wait until February for other summer crops such as squash, melons and corn.

OTHER THINGS TO DO

Mr. Ed will be speaking at Gamble Gardens about Adapting Existing Landscapes to Lower Water Use on Saturday, Feburary 21 from 9:30 to 11:30am.

• Pruning season has arrived and a sharp tool makes a clean cut that heals readily. Check out our Pruning Tool Renovation service, which includes cleaning and sharpening and replacing missing parts for most pruning tools. If you’re unsure whether we can service your tool, bring it in for assessment.

• If you are losing a favorite fruit tree, we may be able to graft part of it onto a new, young tree. We also provide consultation services to help diagnose plant problems, to recommend plantings or make minor landscape plans. Ask us about these services.

• Repot orchids when they’re through blooming every 3 to 4 years.

• If you haven’t done so already, move your containerized tender and tropical plants close to the house during the cold months.

• Consider planting cover crops in unused garden spaces. Cover crops keep soil from compacting during winter rains and add much needed nitrogen to the soil when turned into beds in the spring. Popular cover crops include fava beans, which are edible, and strawberry or red clover. We also feature Winter Cover Crop Mix, which includes bell beans, magnus peas and purple vetch. You can also plant dwarf snap peas from cell packs about nine inches apart.  The peas can be harvested and eaten and still provide all the soil benefits listed.

• Fertilize container plants lightly.

• Consider watering indoor plants with 2 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 gallon of water once a month to reduce salt-build-up and to lower pH.

• Tune up your house plants a couple of times a year. Wash dust and dirt off the leaves, check for bugs and flush the soil by running one or two quarts of water through the soil.

• Humming birds don't migrate in this area so don't forget to continue feeding them through the winter.

• Remember that rain does not reach the plants under the eaves of the house and they will have to be hand watered every 2 or 3 weeks.