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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Jan. 24

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 23, 2021

With so much wet weather ahead, we’ll have plenty of time to read the seed catalogs that have been piling up. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Wet and chilly days follow record heat

After a record hot (and dry) streak, keep your umbrella and rain gear handy.

According to the National Weather Service, Friday’s rain started a series of damp days with possible precipitation in the forecast for the next week – and maybe more. Temperatures drop drastically, too, with daytime highs 20 degrees lower than last week and overnight lows dipping close to freezing.

In other words, Sacramento is finally getting some normal January weather.

This follows some of the hottest days in Sacramento’s January history including a record-tying 74 degrees. Nearby Stockton hit 78.

That heat prompted many plants to break dormancy and push out new growth. Some of that tender new foliage may need frost protection.

A winter storm warning with high winds and rain is in effect from 3 p.m. Sunday to Monday morning .

Be ready for frost: The over night low for Sacramento is expected to be only 30 degrees Monday night . Then, another, stronger storm is expected to hit early Wednesday.

Plan your gardening week accordingly, paying attention to what’s on your priority list:

* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs. If your ground seems saturated, consider planting your garden additions in large black plastic pots. The black plastic will warm up faster than the ground soil and give roots a healthy start. Then, transplant the new addition (rootball and all) into the ground in April as the weather warms.

* Prune, prune, prune – particularly roses and deciduous shrubs. They’re already starting to grow.

* Sunday (Jan. 24) is the final day of the City of Sacramento’s leaf season with in-street pick-up. Say goodbye to The Claw for another year.

* Just because it rained, not everything got watered. Check plants in sheltered areas such as on the patio or under eaves.

* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs.

* Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.

* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.

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CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

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gardening Sacramento pruning roses freeze garden chores rainfall tender plants checklist January weather

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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