January Checklist
- Plants don’t need as much care in winter as they do in summer, but it’s important not to neglect watering your plants over the winter months. Some ice or wind damage is unavoidable, but a lot of cold weather damage to plants’ cells is caused by dehydration.
- Water plants during the winter only after long dry spells of two weeks or more. Plants are inactive during the winter so they don’t need much water, but if the soil completely dries out they risk damage from wind and dehydration.
- Watering your plants before a frost will protect them from damage caused by freezing. The roots need a chance to absorb the water before it freezes, so soak them at least 24 hours before a frost.
- Watering helps aerate the soil and warm the roots, and plants can’t get enough moisture from the soil when it’s frozen. Do the watering mid-day to give the plants a chance to absorb the moisture before night temperatures freeze the water. Always water slowly.
- Avoid getting water on the plants’ stems and leaves when you water in the winter. Ice sitting on foliage can kill it or cause it to break off. Water woody plants like shrubs and young trees away from the trunk because ice can damage the bark.
- Winter months are the best time for planting trees
- Prune dormant Trees and Summer Flowering Shrubs. Spring flowering shrubs, such as Forsythia, should not be pruned until immediately after they bloom.
- Apply Round-Up on dormant Bermuda grass lawns to control winter weeds when temperatures are above 50 degrees.
- Prepare garden soils with Back To Earth Soil Conditioner. Tilling beds brings insects to the top of the soil allowing the cold weather to kill them.
- Spray Dormant Oil Spray for scale and other over-wintering insects
- Service lawn mower
- Inspect your irrigation system and replace worn or broken parts
