|
 Avocados:
Avocados are growing very little, if at all, this time of the year. No need to fertilize.
It is not unusual for your avocado to be dropping many of its leaves this month. New leaves will emerge shortly, don’t worry.
This is not a good month to plant or transplant an avocado.
|
|
|
 Azaleas:
Azaleas are now forming buds at the tips of their branches. Feed them aggressively with a high phosphorus fertilizer from now until they are finished blooming (then switch to a standard “azalea” or “acid” fertilizer).
|
|
|
 Bearded Iris:
In Orange County this time of year they will be slowly pushing out new growth, while last years growth fades away. If you pay close attention, you will even notice the gradual transition of last year’s foliage slowly giving way the new growth of this year. Remove the outer (older) leaves as they turn completely brown by giving them a gentle tug.
|
|
|
 Bulbs, rhizomes, tubers, etc:
(See also Bearded Iris and Tuberous Begonias)
Purchase summer blooming bulbs. The “second bulb season” in southern California includes such favorites as dahlia, tuberous begonia, gladiolus, caladium, calla, canna, tuberose, most true lilies and Mexican shell flower (tigridia). These dormant bulbs, rhizomes, tubers, and corms arrive during the second half of the month. It is a bit too early to plant some of these but buy them now while the supply is good.
Start planting gladiolus and lilies now but wait until late February or March for dahlia, tuberous begonia, caladium, calla, canna, tuberose, and Mexican shell flower)
If you have put any tulips, hyacinth or crocus into the refrigerator for chilling don’t forget about them. This is the last chance to get them planted. |
|
|
 California Native Plants:
This is still a good month to plant most California native plants. California native plants like to be planted in the cool fall and winter months, which is the beginning of their growing season.
If you have not visited a California native plant garden before, now through March would be an excellent time to visit. A couple of the best are Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Clairemont and The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara.
|
|
|
 Camellias:
Most sasanqua camellias are finishing up their bloom for the year. Feed these with an “acid” or azalea/camellia” fertilizer as soon as their bloom cycle has finished.
A few early blooming japonica varieties will be in bloom. This is a good month to begin shopping for these varieties. The selection will be good and you will soon be able to see them in bloom. This is a perfect month to plant them.
|
|
|
 Citrus:
Citrus are doing very little, if any, growing this month. There will probably be fruit developing on such varieties as grapefruit, lemon and lime. A few late bearing tangerines (also called mandarins) may be ready for harvest now. Navel Oranges are probably ready and Grapefruits are almost ready. Try one, but if the sugars aren’t developed wait another month and try again.
This is a good time to shop for citrus, but keep them in their nursery containers and wait at least a couple of months to plant them.
|
|
|
|
 Clematis:
Most clematis in our climate bloom on their new growth. Because of this, like roses, they need an annual wintertime pruning. Now is the time to do this pruning. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule, so check with us on your particular hybrid for the best advice.
Do not fertilize this month. Reduce or eliminate watering as well.
|
|
|
 Deciduous Fruit Trees:
This and last month are the usual time to perform the annual dormant pruning. Before making the first cut, check with a good, well-written reference on the particular technique for your specific variety. Improper pruning seriously damages many fruit trees and each variety requires a different approach.
About the first of this month should be your second application of dormant disease control. This may be either a Copper Sulfate or a Lime-sulfur product (do not use Lime-sulfur on Apricots). Applications of these products should be an annual chore, to avoid infestations of such diseases as Peach Leaf Curl, Shothole Fungus, Apple Scab, Brown Rot, and many others. |
|
|
 Fuchsias:
If you cut your fuchsias back in November (in coastal areas) and have been feeding them, you should be pinching the tips of the new growth. Keep feeding and pinching every couple of weeks through the end of March and then let them bloom.
|
|
|
|
 Gardenias:
Your gardenias may look a little yellow and almost certainly will not be blooming. Don’t worry, they will revive with the onset of warmer weather.
|
|
|
 Groundcovers:
On sloped areas this is not a good time to do any significant planting. Winter rains and erosion are too much of an issue.
California native groundcover plants, like Ceanothus and Arctostaphyllos (Manzanita) are growing nicely now in the cool, moist weather. This is a good month to plant these natives, but be careful on slopes.
|
|
|
 Herbs:
Plant cool-season herbs like cilantro, parsley, chervil, salad burnet, chives, garlic chives, arugula, fennel, dill, and sorrel.
Many annual or short-lived herbs that can be planted now include anise, arugula, catmint, catnip, chervil, chamomile, chives, cilantro, comfrey, dill, fennel, garlic chives, lovage, parsley, salad burnet and sorrel. Other herbs that are essentially year-round in our mild climate can be planted now and include chives, comfrey, feverfew, lavender, lemon balm, lemon grass and rosemary.
|
|
|
 Hydrangeas:
Hydrangeas will look pretty sad this time of the year. They should have already been pruned (in about August or earliest September).
Do not prune hydrangeas in the winter. Hydrangeas bloom on one-year-old stems. Pruning now will eliminate most of next year’s flowers.
If you want to try to get blue or lavender flowers on your otherwise pink plant start applying Aluminum Sulfate to the soil now.
|
|
|
 Lawns:
Feed cool-season lawns (fescue/Marathon, bluegrass, ryegrass). These grasses are growing well now and will need regular feeding with a high quality, slow release fertilizer.
Remember, cool-season lawns should be mowed about a half an inch lower in the winter than in the summer. Except along the immediate mild coast, warm-season lawns (bermudagrass, St. Augustine, zoysia) are pretty much sleeping. |
|
|
 Perennials:
(See also Bearded Iris, Bulbs/Rhizomes/Tubers, Fuchsias and Tuberous Begonias)
Other than those cool-season perennials that are still blooming well (mentioned below), there is no need to fertilize for at least another month or two.
Many perennials are now semi-dormant and waiting for warmer temperatures.
Be sure to not accidentally damage any completely dormant perennials by cultivating or digging where their roots are.
A few cool-season perennials are doing their best to bloom and beautify the garden. These include alstroemeria (except in cold inland gardens), armeria, euryops daisy, forget-me-not (myosotis), hellebore, marguerite daisy and viola (perennial types).
Removing spent or old flowers regularly, especially from the cool-season perennials, will help them to produce more new flowers.
|
|
|
 Records, Catalogs, Books and Organizations:
Most serious gardeners keep some sort of a journal of their activities. These include notes about the garden, plant additions and deletions, what is blooming, fertilizing and pest records, notes about the weather, etc. If you don’t have a journal, Roger’s Gardens should have 2-3 different versions in stock.
Buy Pat Welsh’s “Southern California Gardening”. Completely revised in 2000, this 330-page book is as essential as a spade and a pair of pruning shears. Pat Welsh is the queen of southern California gardening. The other two “essential” books for our area are “The New Sunset Western Garden Book” (revised in 2000) and “52 Weeks in the Garden” by Bob Smaus.
Click here for
our Lectures & Events Schedule
|
|
|
 Roses:
This is the best month for your annual rose pruning. Anytime during the month will suffice, but the middle to latter part of the month is the favorite in Orange County.
Check our “Seminars and Events” page for rose pruning demonstrations and other seminars related to roses this month.
Apply a dormant disease and insect spray to the canes and immediate soil around the pruned roses. Also rake away any old mulch and add fresh. Immediately after pruning is the best time to do both of these chores.
Plant bare root roses now. The selection is outstanding and the prices are much less than later in the year.
|
|
|
 Shrubs & Vines:
(See also the information under Azaleas, Camellias, Gardenias, Hydrangeas and others)
Winter blooming shrubs, like bird-of-paradise (strelitzia), pink powder puff (calliandra), cape honeysuckle (tecomaria) and Australian fuchsia (correa), are in full bloom now.
Cut back Butterfly Bush (Buddleja) hard this month. A rule of thumb is to cut it back about 75%. If you are trying to manage the plant in a small space, try cut it back even more and then pinch the new growth every few weeks to create more branching. |
|
|
 Soil Care:
A healthy garden begins with the soil. Investing in the soil, managing the soil and protecting the soil are its foundation. Healthy soil is living and breathing, full of earthworms, microorganisms, beneficial fungi, bacteria, microbes and other invisible life.
Try to keep from walking or digging in very wet soil as this compresses it.
A thick layer of organic mulch, averaging about two inches will moderate soil temperatures, reduce weed growth, and improve both soil life and soil quality.
Do not use very high analysis fertilizers in a garden. These formulations will inhibit or even destroy much of the soil life that is vital to a healthy, sustainable soil. Do not use systemic fertilizer/insecticide combinations (especially popular with roses). These are also very damaging to soil life.
Use insecticides only when necessary and even then use the least toxic product available. Many of these products move into the soil and interfere with invisible soil life.
|
|
|
 Sweet Peas:
Still time to plant sweet peas from seed, but don’t wait much longer. Plant from color packs for an even quicker bloom.
Tie them up or help them attach themselves to netting, poles or fence.
The earliest (non-daylight sensitive) varieties will already be in bloom if you planted them in August or September. Be sure to keep old flowers pruned off regularly to encourage more buds. |
|
|
 Trees:
(See also the information under Avocados, Citrus, and deciduous Fruit Trees)
Still a good time to prune most trees (except for tender sub-tropical trees like Ficus, Coral Tree, Avocado, Citrus, etc.). Few birds are nesting in trees at this season.
This is an especially good time to prune coniferous trees like pines and cypress, since their pests, various bark beetles, are not active this time of the year. |
|
|
 Tropicals &
Subtropicals:
(See also the information under Avocados, Citrus and Subtropical Fruits)
Continue precautions for frost and cold weather damage on sensitive species (see Frost).
Do not fertilize or do any pruning during the cool winter months.
Many subtropical plants are sensitive to too much moisture around the roots during cool weather. Water very carefully, little if at all during the winter. |
|
|
 Tuberous Begonias:
Tuberous begonia tubers are arriving in nurseries this month. It is too early to plant them, but it is a good time to buy them, while the selection is good. Store them in a cool, dark location until it’s time to sprout them, in March.
|
|
|
 Vegetables:
Still time to plant cool-season vegetables. Use transplants or seed to start arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, peas and spinach. Start beets, carrots, parsnip, radish, rutabaga and turnips from seed only.
Now is the time to purchase and begin planting of larger perennial vegetables like rhubarb, artichoke, horseradish and asparagus. Bare-root plants should be available now. Horseradish can be quite invasive, so keep it in a container.
Feed cool-season vegetables regularly and control weeds before they get out of hand.
|
|
|
 Wisterias:
This spring’s flower buds can now be found on the plant. They are fatter than the leaf-only buds
Established plants: If you didn’t last month, this is the time of your final pruning until after the blooms are done and new growth begins in spring. First, notice the new growth that occurred last year. The point where last year’s growth began and the prior years ended should be noticed by the change in the stem/bark color. Cut all of this new growth to two or three buds above last years resting point.
Young plants: If you didn’t last month, tie in place any stems in the direction that you want them to grow. Prune off wayward and hopelessly tangled stems completely at their source.
No need to fertilize and rains should take care of irrigation needs, except on very young plants.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
