The New Year has welcomed us with our first major storms of the
season. But a little rain doesn’t mean our gardening chores are
finished. Instead, everything from fertilizing, pruning and
planting can still be accomplished between respites from the
rain.
The New Year has welcomed us with our first major storms of the season. But a little rain doesn’t mean our gardening chores are finished. Instead, everything from fertilizing, pruning and planting can still be accomplished between respites from the rain.
For instance, major pruning should be taking place in January and early February. Everything from roses, fruit trees and other deciduous plants (plants that lose their leaves) should be pruned while they are dormant. Don’t be afraid to hack roses down to a few feet with only three to five major canes. The “inside” of your roses should be opened up by eliminating criss-crossing branches. This will allow sunlight and air to circulate through your bushes come next summer. You’ll end up with healthier plants, with more blooms and larger flowers with proper pruning.
In between rains, you should also spray deciduous plants with a so-called dormant spray. Dormant spraying, particularly on fruit trees and roses, should be done two or three times during the winter. These sprays kill over-wintering insects and diseases. If it rains right after spraying, you’ll need to spray again. You’ll also want to try to time your last dormant spray application right before buds burst on deciduous plants, usually sometime in March.
It’s also a good idea to mix in a little Voolk oil with your dormant solution. This oil acts as a “sticking” agent. Many types of light oils can be used as dormant sprays. Check at our local garden centers for such solutions. You can apply with either hose-end sprayers or hand-held pump or compression sprayers.
Believe it or not, the cold, wet weather is also a good time to plant. This is bare-root planting season for things like roses, fruit and nut trees, grapes, and even some shade trees. Bare-roots are specimens that are sold without soil and a container. Roots are usually wrapped in plastic. Because of this, plants are less expensive. The only drawback to bare-roots is you have to wait for a couple days of dry weather to plant. Digging in mud is no fun for anyone, and you also have to add generous amounts of planting mix or organic soil when adding new soil to the planting hole. Do not just throw the mud back in after planting because mud will suffocate the roots.
Finally, if your lawn is looking a little yellow or pale green about now, fertilize with sulfate of ammonia. There’s no better or less expensive fertilizer to use this time of year at a fertilizer designation of 22-0-0 and 20-pound bags costing less than $5.
Of course, there are also outdoor gardening tasks that should not be done during inclement weather conditions. For instance, you should not try to mow your lawn when the grass is too wet or saturated. All you’re going to do is compact the grass further and, even worse, cause deep ruts in your lawn if the mower wheels sink in. You should also try to avoid walking on your garden soil when things are too wet. Besides getting your shoes muddy, you’re also compacting the soil. The more weight on your topsoil, the more compacted it’s going to get.
