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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 6

Enjoy these spring-like days while tackling December tasks

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 5, 2020

Cilantro is a winter crop in our climate. (Yes, gotta clear away

all those leaves.) (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

These late-fall days feel like spring. For the coming week, afternoon highs will continue to peak in the mid to high 60s, about 10 degrees above normal for December in Sacramento.

According to the National Weather Service, this sunny, dry and mostly clear weather will continue through at least Friday. Expect windy conditions Sunday through Tuesday; that brings heightened fire danger. Don't burn anything outdoors.

Overnight lows will continue to dip into the 30s but not quite reach freezing. Still, have the frost blankets handy.

Such beautiful weather makes time spent outdoors especially appealing (particularly when trying to shelter in place). Need some ideas?

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.
* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.
* Rake leaves from trees and use as mulch or compost.
* It's not too late to transplant shrubs and trees.
* Divide and transplant perennials such as daylilies and Shasta daisies.
* Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.
* Transplant seedlings for bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard and spinach.
* From seed, plant fava beans, chard, leaf lettuce, mustard, radishes and spinach.
* Plant garlic and onion sets.
* Add some winter and early spring color. Plant pansies, snapdragons, stocks, Icelandic poppies, calendulas and other favorites.
* Plant one more round of spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.
* Transplant herbs including most of the mint family (such as catmint and oregano), cilantro, rosemary, fennel and scented geraniums.

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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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