Gardening Guide
- Plan
- for summer planting by identifying structural or
ornamental changes you would like to make. The placement of plants should
also be revisited based on their growing needs and size.
- Plant
- January is a good time to plant fruit, flowering or shade
trees. Most nurseries dig their annual supply at this time of year, so
availability is strong and because the trees are dormant, the shock of
transplanting is minimal. Soak store-bought and mail-order bare-root plants
in tepid water for several hours before planting.
- Recycle
- your Christmas tree. Branches from your Christmas tree
will act as natural coverings for tender or early flowering plants. Shred
the remainder of the tree to be used as mulch or add it to the compost
pile.
- Maintain
- Scheduling professional service for your lawn and
garden equipment now will save you weeks of waiting time in the spring.
- Weed
- Many weeds have already flowered and gone to seed at this
time of year. Eliminating them now will save work for months to come.
- Spray
- apply a dormant spray on trees, shrubs, roses and peach
trees to control over-wintering insect and disease problems. Do not spray in
freezing weather, heavy winds or rain.
- Remember
- to use sand and not salt on icy paths as salt is
destructive to the soil.
- Last call for bulbs
- If you haven't already planted tulips,
daffodils, hyacinths or crocus, get them in the soil as soon as possible.
- Fertilize
- your landscape. Use a rhododendron type fertilizer to
feed evergreens like junipers, conifers, broadleaf evergreens, azaleas and
camellias. Use an all-purpose garden fertilizer for roses, fruit and
flowering trees and other deciduous trees and shrubs.
- Plant
- sweet peas as soon as the soil is warm enough. Plant primroses
and pansies for early color.
- Avoid
- walking on frozen grass as it causes bare spots.
- Shop
- for berries, asparagus, rhubarb, garlic and potatoes as
well as fragrant shrubs such as witch hazel, daphne and sarcococca.
- Prune
- fruit, flowering and shade trees to improve the shape of
the plant, stimulate air circulation and increase sun exposure.
- Maintain
- lawns by dethatching and applying a moss killing
fertilizer, if needed.
- Contact
- Lifestyle Landscapes to start up your irrigation system.
- Shop
- for summer-blooming bulbs.
- Sow
- tomatoes, lettuce, petunia and marigold seeds indoors.
Starting seeds indoors provides a thirty to sixty day jump on the gardening
season. Hardier vegetables such as spinach, fava beans and poppies can be
sown outdoors.
- Cultivate
- the vegetable garden by adding fertilizer, compost
and lime.
- Prune
- roses; all roses, as well as established hedges, can be
pruned this time of year.
- Deadhead
- bulbs as they finish blooming, leaving the foliage to
wither naturally. Fertilize crowded clumps as they finish blooming with
balanced organic fertilizer.
- Water
- in spite of the wet weather, plants situated under the
eaves of the house and under tall evergreens may be dry.
- Plant
- peas, carrots, cabbage, asparagus, beets, cauliflower and
corn. Summer flowering bulbs, such as dahlias, glads and lilies can also be
planted in April.
- Remember
- to plant extra vegetables to donate to such
organizations as Northwest
Harvest, Lettuce
Link and Plant A
Row For the Hungry.
- Wash
- seed trays and pots with warm soapy water and sterilize
with a bleach solution before reusing.
- Pinch
- tips of chrysanthemums, asters, sedum "Autumn Joy",
perennial sunflowers, coreopsis, sages, and other bush-forming perennials to
make them fuller, more compact and self-supporting.
- Bait
- for slugs with a pet-safe slug bait.
- Clean
- ponds and water features.
- Thin
- apple and peach trees except for the largest, best fruit.
Protect ripening berries with netting.
- Mow
- and water regularly; leave short clippings to nourish the
lawn. Apply a spring fertilizer with moss control as needed.
- Aerate
- the lawn now to cut down on the amount of watering
required to maintain the lawn this summer.
- Plant
- vines such as fleece vines, morning glory, clematis and
climbing hydrangea on trellises, arbors and fences. Plang summer bulbs,
fuchsias and container grown trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers.
- Control
- weeds now as they are easier to pull when they are
small and the soil is still damp.
- Sow
- seeds of basil and cilantro. Harvest the cilantro as soon
as it leafs out since it goes to seed rapidly. Oregano and thyme like soil
on the dry side, mint prefers damp soil and chives and parsley do best with
normal watering.
- Shop
- for perennials such as astilbe, bleeding heart, campanula,
columbine, ferns, lady's mantle, lupine and sweet woodruff.
- Avoid
- nicking the bark when mowing or trimming near trees as
this can griddle and kill the tree or leave an entrance for pest and disease.
- Remove
- aphids with a jet of water or in extreme cases with an
insecticidal soap. Aphids colonize tender new growth.
- Prune
- June is an ideal month for shaping evergreens; Junipers,
Cypress and Conifers can also be sheared, pinched and pruned. This is also a
good time to prune vines, deadwood, weak and diseased branches.
- Stake
- tall and floppy annuals and perennials for support.
- Provide
- birds with plenty of water this month to keep them away
from berries and vegetables.
- Mow
- grass 0.5" higher than in spring to encourage deeper
rooting and help protect the grass from heat stress.
- Monitor
- roses for winter damage. Be on the lookout for mildew,
aphid, black spot or other insect and disease problems and take action.
- Fertilize
- vegetables and berries with manure, compost tea or
organic 5-10-5 fertilizer.
- Plant
- broccoli, gourmet greens and aquatic plants.
- Weed
- Weeds are apt to germinate faster as the weather gets
warmer; pull and eliminate them now before they mature.
- Harvest
- potatoes and onions after tops yellow and die.
- Prune
- wisteria, hedges, heathers and fuchsias for the last time.
- Sow
- seeds of zinnias, cosmos, nicotiana and sunflowers for
later-summer and fall bloom.
- Water
- deeply and thoroughly rather than lightly and frequently.
Remember to save water by directing sprinklers onto the lawn and beds and
not the driveway or sidewalk.
- Mow
- lawns to be on the taller side this month as taller blades
encourage deeper root growth.
- Prune
- only for shape and spent canes of berry bushes after
fruiting.
- Freeze
- extra tomatoes and peppers by slicing them into quarters
and packing them in freezer bags. You can easily pre-peel tomatoes by
dipping then into boiling water for a minutes until the skin loosens, then
cooling them in ice water and slipping the skins off. Peppers are delicious
roasted under the broiler until lightly charred and the skins pop free.
Peel, slice and freeze to use on pasta and in salads and other dishes.
- Groom
- deadhead marigolds, zinnias, snapdragons and other
annuals. Spent flowers on perennials should also be removed.
- Plant
- or seed fall and winter vegetable such as green onions,
carrots, lettuce, spinach, radishes and over-wintering cauliflowers.
- Water
- lawns carefully this month as it can take as little as
three days for the lawn to dry-out. Water during the cooler parts of the day
so there will be less water lost to evaporation.
- Donate
- extra produce to your local food bank, Northwest Harvest or Plant A Row
For the Hungry.
- Order
- bulbs, roses, perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs,
trees, berry bushes and fruit trees now for fall planting.
- Care
- for roses by no longer deadheading the spent blossoms,
instead let them form hips to help the plant wind down for winter.
- Plant
- mums, dusty miller, pansies and flowering kale for fall
and winter color.
- Divide
- summer flowering perennials and grasses.
- Shop
- for spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, crocus,
tulips, hyacinths and exotics.
- Seed
- or sod lawns. September is also a good time to overseed
lawns with bare spots.
- Thatch
- lawns as needed. Be sure to fertilize after thatching.
- Sow
- wildflower meadows by scattering seeds on well prepared
ground. Rake lightly and cover with a thin layer of peat moss.
- Mulch
- apply a 3 inch layer of organic mulch over the roots of
permanent plants to reduce soil erosion and freeze damage this winter.
- Collect
- and dispose of rotted fruit to prevent the spreading of
disease.
- Remove
- annuals, roots and all, when they fade. Cut perennial
stalks to a couple of inches above the ground.
- Shovel prune
- poor performers. You have had all season to see
which plants aren't going to survive due to poor placement or disease. It's
time to dig them up and identify better candidates for the spot.
- Rake
- leaves frequently and recycle by composting. Invest in a
mulching mower, and let shredded leaves remain where they are on the lawn; as
they decompose they will reduce thatch. If your mower has a bag attachment,
leaves may also be used as mulch in flower beds. Another option is to put
leaves in a heavy trash bag with a handful of soil and high nitrogen lawn
fertilizer, moisten them lightly and occasionally toss the bag to mix the
contents. By spring, you will have created compost.
- Fill
- bird feeders with mixed seed and suet.
- Eliminate
- slugs (adult, baby and egg) with baits, beer or salt
now to prevent them from reproducing again this fall.
- Winterize
- by moving tender plants like geraniums, begonias,
impatients and gerber daisies indoors before the first frost ruins them.
Likewise, fuchsias, dahlias and other semi-tender plants should be prepared
for their winter storage.
- Fertilize
- lawns with a fall or winter fertilizer. If thatching
or aerating is required, perform these tasks before fertilizing.
- Remember
- if your lawn has been treated with "Weed and Feed" do
not place grass clippings in the compost. The herbicides in some types of
"Weed and Feed" can last for up to nine to twelve months, and even if
composted could affect the growth of plants and seeds.
- Fasten
- climbing roses to help prevent wind damage; stake or
brace newly planted plants. Mound soil around the base of grafted roses to
protect them.
- Empty
- gasoline remaining in mower and tiller engines and in fuel
lines. Store leftover organic chemicals where they cannot freeze. Turn off
outside water and drain hoses.
- Winterize
- irrigation systems. Cold temperatures can cause
costly damage to irrigation systems not properly serviced. Contact
Lifestyle Landscapes for an appointment.
- Weed
- till and amend beds now so that they will be ready for
spring.
- Mow
- the lawn one last time before spring; try to pick a dry
weekend to do so.
- Maintain
- tools by sharpening shovels, spades, hoes and pruners;
rub down wood handles with linseed oil and wipe metal blades with an oily
cloth to prevent rusting.
- Transplant
- peonies, rhododendrons and azaleas. The key to
transplanting is to dig a large root ball, getting as much of the root
system as possible. It is also critical to get the plant back into the soil
as soon as possible so that the root system does not dry out from air
exposure. Always dig the new planting hole considerably larger than the root
ball of the plant you are transplanting; this ensures that the plant will
have rich soil in which to become established. Prepare the new soil by
mixing generous quantities of peat moss and processed manure and/or compost
with your existing soil. The addition of a non-burning transplanting
fertilizer is beneficial in encouraging new root development over the
winter.
- Store
- packets of leftover seed in a dry place such as a
sealable jar with a packet of silica gel, dried rice or powdered milk in the
bottom. Keep in a cool, dark cupboard.
- Protect
- should the weather turn extremely cold, provide extra
protection for tender or early flowering plants like rhododendrons,
camellias, azaleas and daphne by covering them with some type of cloth
material. First place three or four stakes around the plant. Then drape the
burlap, old blanket or other cloth type material over the stakes so it does
not come into direct contact with the leaves of the plant. Leave the cover
in place only for the duration of the cold spell. As soon as the weather
moderates, remove the cloth.
- Prune
- stone fruits such as cherries, plums, prunes and peaches.
- Take Cuttings
- of evergreens, heathers, rhododendrons and
azaleas. Take cuttings from the newly established tip growth, and keep
indoors with bright light where temperatures range near seventy degrees
during the day and night.
- Create
- holiday decorations from sprigs cut from the garden, such
as needle and broad-leaved evergreens, berries, vines and ground covers. Spray
with antidesiccant to retard moisture loss. Twist grapevines into wreaths.
Add pinecones and interesting seedpods, dried herbs and flowers as well as
fragrant spices.
- Tie-up
- loosely branched evergreens and boxwood to prevent snow
damage.
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