Happy New Gardening Year! January is the time to clean up the house and yard after holiday festivities and get ready for the new year, so here are some pointers to help get you through the winter and ready for spring planting.
If you haven’t already done so, it’s now time to plant your live Christmas tree and hopefully you prepared your hole well in advance of the recent snows and covered it over, so this should be a fairly easy task. Acclimate it to the temperature changes by putting it on a porch or in a garage for a few days once you bring it out of the house, before putting it into the ground.
Snow has been abundant this season and as of Jan. 1 we were at 130 percent of normal for the year for our basin and even though there are those of us that would rather see this precipitation in the form of rain, snow can be quite beneficial. Aside from providing much needed moisture, it also acts as a wonderful insulator for tender perennials, trees, shrubs, roses, etc. On the downside, it can be harmful to trees and shrubbery if it is a heavy snow that lays on branches. Be sure to brush snow off the branches so that they are not broken. Prune away any branches that have been broken or injured due to snow or ice accumulation.
One of the things most harmful to plants in winter is something many people won’t even think about until next spring – salt. Used on sidewalks and driveways, it is often washed off into the soil and can do extensive damage to landscaping. Instead try kitty litter, sand or bird seed as an anti-skid material on your hard surfaces. Salt will also break down concrete, so use it sparingly.
Water! If you happen to live in an area that hasn’t received much snow or rain, you may need to winter water as well this month. Check the ground several inches down and if it’s dry, then water. Remember it generally takes 1 foot of snow to equal 1 inch of rain, so if there’s not 5-6 inches of snow on the ground, you’ll probably need to water. Choose a relatively warm day when temperatures are in the 50s and water midday when it’s warmest. Remember my rule for winter watering, especially with newly planted trees, shrubs and perennials – water each holiday between Halloween and Easter. This works out to roughly once a month and is an easy way to remember. The biggest cause of death to plants over the winter is lack of water, and even if we have snowcover, many times the snow in our area is so dry, light and powdery, that there is very little moisture in it to help your plants.
Check your yard periodically. Hard freezes often heave bulbs and new perennials out of the ground. If this happens, gently push them back in and replant. Covering with evergreen branches left over from your cut Christmas tree will help protect them.
Seed and plant catalogs will begin to arrive in the mailbox soon. Take some time to dream away snowy January days by thinking about planting and the growing season to come. I have a word of caution when selecting things from catalogs. Look through them carefully and choose what is best for your yard, because not all things are well suited to the climate here, even if they are advertised in the catalogs as good for our zone. If you don’t know your zone, check with your local garden center. They can help direct you to know what’s best for where you live, as microclimates exist even with in specific zones. Look for new and improved varieties as far as disease and insect resistance. Drought-tolerant varieties are also favorable in this area.
Rotate your houseplants around to brighter locations now to take advantage of the winter’s weaker light. As you are moving them check for disease and insects. It’s a great time to clean their leaves and freshen them up. Check for watering often on your indoor houseplants because overwatering and underwatering is a common problem in the wintertime. Remember, plants are like people – neither likes to have wet feet! This will vary depending on the plant and on the humidity levels in your home and whether you have forced air, or a woodstove, for example, as a heat source. The easiest thing to do is to check the soil and water when dry to the touch or when the plant is visibly wilting.
Start dreaming of those warm spring days that are just around the corner or if you need an instant spring fix, visit a greenhouse and take a walk around. You may be surprised to find that even though the world outside is covered in snow, inside you’ll find that inside spring has already begun
Gail Vanik can be reached at 970-565-8274 or by email at fourseasons@animas.net.