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This Month in Your Garden
DECEMBER |
Roses |
December is a month
to let your roses slow down a
bit. You won’t have the number
of blooms that you had in the
spring or early summer, but the
quality of the individual bloom
can be quite impressive, so cut
them to bring in and brighten
the gloomier days of fall. In the
garden you can leave the hips
on after the blooms die, letting
the rose slow down and prepare
for dormancy. Many people enjoy
using the colorful hips in
fall arrangements. Don’t expect
the plants to look their best,
with the shorter, cooler days
(and an occasional blast from
the Santa Ana winds), but continue
to clean up leaves so any
fungus doesn’t thrive in the surrounding
soil. A layer of mulch
is always a good idea, even
though the climate is cooler.
Mulch will protect the soil from
fungus and also keep the soil a
constant temperature, which
roses appreciate, especially this
time of year when there can be a
40 degree temperature change
from day to day. Definitely
don’t do any fertilizing for the
rest of the year. You don’t
want new growth when it is
time to prune this winter. |
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Perennials and Shrubs |
December is typically
the start of our rainy season, although
this year has been anything
but typical. The onset of
the rainy season is the signal to
our California native plants to
wake up and begin their growth
and bloom cycles. It is also the
best time to plant and allow them
to establish. If you have ever
tried to plant natives without success,
(and you are not alone) it
may be because you were planting
in the spring when they were
ready to go dormant. Then you
were watering and fertilizing
them along with your other perennials.
The natives did not appreciate
all this attention. They
just wanted a long nap during the
late spring and summer. Try
again now and chances are you
will be much more successful!
Try some of the beautiful selections
of ceanothus (California
lilac), which can be used as
shrubs or ground covers.
Diplaccus (monkey flower) or
L a v a t e r a as s u g e n t e um
(California tree mallow) are also
selections that make nice garden
shrubs for good drainage areas
that are also drought tolerant.
Planting of most other perennials
and shrubs (except for
tropical plants) can continue this
month with good results. Some
cool weather loving perennials
are starting their bloom cycles.
Look for flowers on hellebore,
marguerite daisies, myosotis
(forget-me-nots) and perennial
violas.
Sasanqua camellias are beginning
their bloom cycles now
and will continue until early
spring. Japonica camellias are
setting their blooms getting
ready for their show to begin in
late winter on through early summer.
There is no need to fertilize
either of these shrubs until after
they are through blooming.
Clematis vines may be looking
a bit ragged this time of year
and although it is the time to be
cleaning up and cutting back
most other plants, it is better to
treat these like roses and wait
until January to cut them back
and feed them.
If you live where the winter
temperatures remain mild, now is
the time to cut back your fuchsias
by two thirds. If you get
temperatures that get near freezing
a few times or more in the
winter, wait until February to cut
them back.
If your Chrysanthemums are
finished blooming in the garden,
cut them down to about four or
five inches from the ground and
feed them with a balanced fertilizer.
Now is the best time of year
to inoculate your soil with beneficial
mycorrhizore. It is easy
with the tablets that are sold at
many garden nurseries now.
A thick layer of organic
mulch added to the ground
around your shrubs and perennials
now will break down over the
winter and add a layer of nutrients
to the soil that will be of
benefit to your garden next
spring. |
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Fruits and Vegetables |
As the season of joy approaches,
it’s fun to share the joy
of gardening, with living gifts
from your egetable garden. Potted
herbs, parsley, thyme, chives,
are a favorite way to get someone
started in patio ardening. You
might assemble a “salad bowl”
with a variety of lettuce seedlings,
chives and a few radish seeds.
Planted in late November, they
will be lush and ready for gifting
in 30 days or less. Thoughtful
gardeners will use moisture-retentive
containers and quality
potting soil with time-release fertilizer
added. Be sure to include
detailed care instructions for success
and perhaps an appropriate,
favorite recipe. Beets, chard, onions,
spinach, snap peas (with trellis)
and strawberries can also be
potted, considering the personal
taste of the recipient. Having
these gifts prepared well ahead of
the holiday rush, makes it a real
joy for you too.
In your own winter garden,
seedlings are now thriving as temperatures
cool. Slugs and snails
will be your worst enemies this
season, so trap them under upside
down pots, boards, or in shallow
containers of beer. Be sure to
clear your traps often to make
room to lure more slugs and snails.
There is still no better method than
hand-picking them from the underside
of leaves. Early morning,
while foliage is still moist, is the
best time to collect them. Baits
are helpful in surrounding areas as
slugs and snails can travel up to 30
feet in one night just to graze in
your garden. If you keep your
vegetable beds organic, keep any
chemical controls at a reasonable
distance.
Deciduous fruit trees have
such a short winter here in Orange
County that it is important to be
prepared with a supply of dormant
spray and a working sprayer,
ready for the day when your trees
complete their leaf drop. You can
also shake down any remaining
leaves to get the job done on or
before December 15, spraying all
branches, trunk and the surrounding
soil. Apple, pear and plum
trees should all be treated with
dormant oil or a lime-sulfur spray.
Do not use sprays containing sulfur
on apricots, but do use the dormant
oil and a fixed-copper additive
if necessary. Peaches need
the dormant oil, the sulfur and the
copper for control of peach leaf
curl. All sprays should be repeated
at exactly 6 weeks, a crucial
factor for peaches. |
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