Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 29

Be sure to strip any remaining leaves off roses when you prune them, then

clean up leaves and debris underneath. Fresh mulch is a good idea, too. Then
this Lady Hamilton rose will be all ready for spring growth. (Photo: Debbie

Arrington)

Soft ground makes for easy transplanting

Enjoy the winter sun while you can. This has been a rainy December in Sacramento, which is a good thing. It's replenishing our gardens' reserves.

So far, this month's rain totals (4.54 inches) are 60 percent more than last December, with more on the way. But after Sunday's storms, we're expected to get a string of bright, sunny (and chilly) days. The ground is soft, which makes for easy transplanting. Take advantage of it.

This is a great time to plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs -- even if it's still rainy. If the weather stays wet and your ground seems saturated, consider planting your garden additions in large black plastic pots. This method really gets roses off to a fast start.

The black plastic warms up faster than the ground soil and gives roots a healthy boost. Then, transplant the new addition (rootball and all) into the ground in April as the weather turns to spring.

Elsewhere in the garden during these last days of 2019 and the first of a new decade:

* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring. This also cuts down on fungal disease.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* Enjoy sunny winter days by planting for spring. Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
*Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

seeds Sacramento roses garden chores bare-root plants winter annuals gardening pruning cool-weather vegetables mulch shrubs dormant trees checklist bulbs

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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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