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January Garden Love

January Garden Love for Northern CA
It is a season to prune and plant all over your garden!  Here you can see what to prune and plant to get your garden ready for Spring!

Wait to prune spring blooming shrubs, such as forsythia, weigela, lilac, Spanish broom and bridal wreath, or you’ll be cutting off the flowers. Once they’ve finished blooming, then prune them back.

Do not prune wisteria vines now. Wait until two weeks after they have bloomed.

January is bare-root season for fruit trees, berry vines, grapevines, shrubs, roses, artichoke crowns and more. Buying bare-root is less expensive than buying a plant already potted. If the soil is too wet to work, dig a trench and lay the plants in it, then lightly cover the roots with soil or compost until you can plant.

Spray fruit trees with dormant oil to kill overwintering insects (such as scale) and to control powdery mildew.

Prune fruit trees. If you don’t know how, buy a book on fruit and nut trees and take it into the garden with you and read about each type of fruit tree before you make any cuts.

Cut grapevines back, leaving two to three buds per side shoot.

Prune hybrid tea roses: Cut out spindly wood. Cut away crossing branches. Take out old canes. Don’t worry if there are flower buds. Leave the newest, strongest canes. The idea is to get plants ready for spring. Always use sharp shears, and make all cuts on a slant. Wait until spring to prune climbing roses.

Cut sedum stalks to the ground.

Cut berry vines that bore fruit last year to the ground. Clear away all debris in the berry patch and apply a new layer of mulch.

For a succession of bloom, plant gladiolus every two weeks. Plant them in clumps.

Order seeds for this year’s vegetable garden.

If you have crabgrass in your lawn, now is the best time to apply a pre-emergent.

Plant calendula, candytuft, English daisy, Iceland poppy, pansy, primrose, snapdragons sweet pea and viola.

Vegetables to plant this month: broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, peas, carrots, radishes and turnips.

Prune clematis that bloomed last summer and fall.

Sharpen blades of lawnmowers, shovels and hoes. Check pruning shears for dull blades, too.

Wait until spring to prune away frost damaged foliage or limbs. Let it look ugly. It will protect the plant and when spring comes you can see just how far back the damage is.