THE WINTER WINDS have been testing the strength of your tree’s root systems and branch flexibility lately, and maybe even your patience.
So hopefully your shears, loppers and chain saws have been sharpened and ready for the driveway clearing that has weighed heavily on your mind these past few days.
It is time to prepare for a very busy gardening year, so we begin with the first work list of 2018:
1. Pruning
It is winter and we have had a little cold weather, along with thawing snow and ice. These are the ideal winter conditions for pruning.
Begin to make out your list of plants to prune, starting with the driveway and working your visual way around the house, sheds and parking areas, including view corridors from windows and decks.
Personally, I begin by sharpening the blades, oiling moving parts and performing maintenance on handles or ladders.
Hopefully you have added to your Felco pruning collection since reading my last article, as they also sell springs and blades as replacement parts for any of your well-loved pruners that might need a little repair work.
2. Tree thinning
January is the month to take down that big branch over the house, remove a leaning tree, cut out dead limbs, or take down limbs or trees that are threatening other structures, such as fences, sheds and neighbor’s garages.
We can’t count on the wind taking down the tree in the optimum direction, although it did a fantastic job dropping a too-close tree at my house.
Hire a professional if the job is too large, as you’ll need your back and agility for later in the year when the honey-please card is played.
3. Garden Alert: Rot
The cold, gray, rainy and windy days are here to stay, for a few more months anyway.
Now is the time to make sure perennials are cut back and the big old leaves stripped away, with mulch around their root systems.
Check all perennials for signs of rot or mildew. Do this visual check every 7 to 10 days.
4. Mulch/cover/smother
Add inches of organic material now. You can get these in larger quantities hauled in from Lazy J, or bagged up and ready to load into your car at your retail gardening outlets.
Mulching needs to happen now because we are already getting early blooms on rhododendrons and heads emerging from the soil on early tulips and daffodils. Cover these bulb plants (do not cover crocus, snowdrops or species iris) with a couple of inches of soil or mulch.
This method of smothering also controls annual weeds (as does a quick fork-side-up rake through beforehand).
Also throw 4 to 6 inches of mulch over any vegetable areas. Top the vegetable gardens off with some ammonium nitrate (21-0-0).
5. Weed alert
The warmer soil temperatures have caused your grass to begin growing, and along with that, the nasty and unwelcome weeds. I’m seeing all types of weeds showing up, everywhere.
We are one step away from total weed takeover.
Go out and take care of the problem now with a hand trowel, gloved pulling hands, hoe, or rake.
The weather isn’t warm enough for Round-up applications, but hand removal when they are so small makes easy work out of wet soil conditions, releasing weed roots with little effort.
6. Puddle problems
January is the perfect time to fix drainage problems, because you can see them and the effectiveness [or ineffectiveness] of your work.
While the rains are here, dig ditches, lay drainage pipe, create french drains and dig dry wells lined with fabric, because standing water kills grass, trees and perennials
Work done this month will give your yard weeks to grow back, before summer season consumes your yard and time.
7. Check your gutters
Check your gutters one more time this week, the wind having blown more leaves, while you were sleeping overnight. Be safe on your ladders, use small buckets and wear full rubber gloves to protect your hands and do this early in the day while you’re still fresh.
Accidents are more likely to occur later in the day when you start feeling fatigued, so plan your work on ladders when you’re more charged-up.
8. Rose Litter
January is the time to induce your roses to take a breather. Strip off all large leaves — anything green — from your roses today.
Rake all leaves and stems surrounding the base, and throw this debris away.
Do not introduce black spot into your compost. These leaves and limbs need to be sent off property, bagged, and destroyed. Do not prune roses now, just remove the debris that harbors disease, over-wintering rust and black spot.
9. Make a cold frame
In our mild climate, our cold frames are most people’s greenhouses—providing a few degrees warmer soil and jump start to seedlings. If you’re fortunate, you can begin on a greenhouse.
Cold frames on the North Olympic Peninsula allow us to grow vegetables, flowers, trees or shrubs all year long, especially depending upon the depth/height of the frame.
We can also condition the plants being started indoors, so that they will make the transition out to the garden perfectly this spring, by using the cold frame in spring’s fickle weather bursts.
If you do not have a green house, consider a cold frame, finding many useful designs online.
10. Seed catalogs
Yes, seed packages are showing up at your favorite retail outlet, and I prefer seeds that are grown to the northwest’s wetter conditions, such as Territorial.
You can go online and order catalogs, planning and ordering for your vegetable garden or flower seeds, or getting ready for bulbs to be planted for a fall color. Check out this year’s catalogs while supplies are good, and while time is on your side.
11. Collect, buy supplies
Soon garden chores will be pulling our attention away, so be prepared by looking for supplies in the next four weeks.
You will need fertilizer, bone meal, sterilized germination soil, root tone, sterilized pots, peat moss, blank labels, mason bees and houses, stakes, ties, trellises, wheeled planter caddies, perlite, soil soup, insecticidal soap, germination mats, new 6 mil polyethylene for the greenhouse, shovels, dirt and yard rocks. Clip and tuck this list into your wallet.
12. Plan containers
Find the ideal decorative pots, search for the neat wrought iron hangers, make flower boxes for every window (flash against the siding so it doesn’t spread moisture into your wood building), making this the year of the container.
Every house, business and park needs to find ways to creatively express itself with hanging baskets, movable pots, old metal containers, or custom cedar planters.
This is the time to design arrangement grouping areas, and match (or purposely mismatch) color scheme pots, shapes and containers.
Because your retail stores and outlets haven’t stocked up on delicate plants, take this time to get your supplies and pottery containers, lists and soil products.
Just because the winds and rains are pounding against your window, doesn’t mean it isn’t a great time to take a tour into antique stores, garden centers for pots, or travel over to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show Feb. 7-10 for great selections, and a reason to walk in the dry indoors.
Keep those boots dry, rain gear in the car, and a towel to dry off the merchandise you’re going to be bringing home!
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Andrew May is an ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsula dailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).