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Monthly Garden Tips

January

Bed Preparation

Prepare areas for planting Spring flowers and vegetables, as the soil can be worked. But be careful, if the soil is too wet, it will dry into hard clumps. To improve drainage and texture, work in lots of compost, old sawdust, or manure. If you use leaves, hay, or other less decomposed material, add ½ cup high nitrogen fertilizer per 3 bushels of material.

Bulbs

If you didn't get your spring blooming bulbs in the ground last fall, you can still plant them.

Flowers

Order seeds now, to plant when the weather warms.

• Hardy Annuals-sow seeds of sweet alyssum, calendula, cornflower, poppy, sweetpea, larkspur, phlox, canterbury bells, sweet William, cottage pinks, cornflower, poppy, larkspur, and phlox. In the Middle and Upper South, start these in a cold frame or inside for transplanting in February or March.
• Indoors, sow seeds of penstemons, petunias, verbenas, and fibrous rooted begonias to transplant into the garden after the last frost.
• Pansies-Fertilize with 5-10-10 or similar fertilizer at rate of ½ cup per square yard. You can still transplant them.
• Start rooting cuttings -impatiens, coleus, mums, bedding begonias, Make cuttings 3-4 inches.
• Vines: Good time to plant Carolina Jessamine, cross vine, and honeysuckle.

Fruit Trees

Peach trees-Begin pruning this month, especially in the lower South. Be sure to remove suckers and water sprouts.
Good time to start a summer orchard by planting grapevines, blueberries, apples, pears, and peaches.

Garden Planning and Landscaping

While you're dreaming and planning, check out Better Homes and Gardens web site. There is a whole section on garden planning and landscaping. They even have several Garden Plans.

Herbs

Begin planning herb garden. Order seeds.
Can begin sowing seeds of dill, chives, and coriander.
Among the easiest to grow from seed are basil, caraway, dill, lavender, parsley, summer savory, and thyme. A sunny window is a good spot to start them. They should be ready to set out doors in March or April.

House Plants

Water house plants as needed, add 1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar per gallon water. Keep plants out of drafts, and place humidity loving plants on a tray or saucer of pebbles and water.
Poinsettias-To keep fresh as long as possible, keep it away from cold drafts near doors, and the drying effect of heaters. Needs morning sun and bright light. Keep the soil moist, but not wet.

Pecans

Plant pecans now, while they're dormant.

Pruning

Prune deciduous fruit trees and roses, but be careful not to trim the buds off spring blooming trees and shrubs!
Rose of Sharon, peegee hydrangeas, chaste tree, and orange eye butterfly bush bloom on new growth and should be pruned now before spring growth begins. But, don't prune azaleas, spireas, border forsythia, and oakleaf hydrangea now, because they formed flowerbuds last fall; wait till they finish blooming.
You can prune evergreens any time this spring, until May.
Don't remove cold damaged branches from trees and shrubs until danger of frost is past, and new growth has started.

Roses

Plant bare root roses now.
In the Upper South, protect newly planted roses by mounding soil around the canes to insulate against the cold. When the weather warms in the Spring, pull the soil away and form into a berm around the base, to conserve moisture.

Shrubs

Crepe Myrtle-prune off seed capsules. They'll look better and have more flowers next summer.
Set out trees, shrubs, woody vines, and roses while plants are dormant, and not as easily traumatized.
If you can work the soil, you can plant bare root roses, and shrubs. Add superphosphate, ½ to 1 cup per cubic yard of soil, to the backfill to encourage root growth. If you live in the Deep South, you can plant container grown trees and shrubs. Further north, you need to wait a bit.
Camellias--In Middle, Lower, and Coastal South, purchase Camellias, now, to add to your garden, while they are in bloom. Brown blotches on the petals could be a sign of flower blight, a fungus that lies dormant in old flowers, mulch, and soil beneath the plants. Deadhead Camellia blossoms and pick up fallen blossoms to prevent disease problems.
Gather branches of forsythia, quince, spirea and other early-flowering shrubs to force into bloom indoors. Make long slanted cuts when collecting branches, then put them in water.

Tools

This is a good time to be getting your tools in shape.
Take the lawn mower in for a tune up, or do it yourself: Change the oil, and clean or replace the filter. Keep and extra blade around, so you can have a sharp one handy while one is being sharpened-they need to be sharpened three or four times a year.

Vegetables

In the Upper South, you can sow cool-season vegetables, such as peas, lettuce, and spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and collards.
Continue to harvest collards and kale: cooler weather sweetens the leaves.