Mid Winter:
One of the best gardening months of the entire year is January. This is an ideal month to plant
fruit, flowering and shade trees, dormant spray, prune and eliminate weeds. This is also a great time
to sharpen and repair mowers, trimmers, shredders, chain saws and other garden implements.
WINTER PLANT PROTECTION - If you still have your cut Christmas tree around, don’t throw it
away. You can cut off the branches and use them to cover tender or early flowering plants. Cut
boughs from evergreens, like the cut Christmas tree, are natural coverings for plants during cold
weather. Then when you are all through with the evergreen boughs they can be recycled through the
compost pile or shredded and used for mulching.
PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS - If you are thinking of adding any fruit, flowering or shade
trees to the garden, this would be a good time to select and plant them. Most garden outlets get
their new selection of these trees during the winter, so you get the pick of the crop. Plus, because
the trees are dormant, they transplant with a minimum amount of set-back. Incidentally, if you are
selecting fruit trees be sure to ask the Certified Nurseryperson or Master Gardener on duty, which
of the varieties are recommended for your area, so you get varieties that will produce the very best,
quality fruit.
January is also a great month to select and plant Roses. Likewise, evergreens and deciduous shrubs
can easily be planted anytime the temperatures are above freezing.
PRUNING - Do you have any pruning to do? January is a great month to prune most deciduous trees
and shrubs. Fruit, flowering and shade trees can be pruned at this time. Do not prune spring
flowering plants, like quince, forsythia or Spirea, etc. as you would be removing their spring flowers.
If needed, these plants can be pruned when the plants have finished flowering.     Next
Winter Tips
Urban Gardeners