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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 8

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 7, 2019

Those are limes on the right, not lemons -- they're ripening and need to be picked soon. The satsuma mandarins on the left should be harvested, too. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

After soggy start, dry gardening days ahead

Despite the soggy start, this week looks like it will have prime winter gardening weather.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect several dry days after Sunday showers taper off. High temperatures will be comfortably in the 50s.

It's time to rake the lawn! (Photo:

Debbie Arrington)

It's time to get outside and take care of business. Tidy up the mess left by the weekend's wind and rain. Rake up fallen leaves. Pick up citrus knocked down by wind. Make sure gutters are clear of debris.

Then, take advantage of that nice moist soil. Plant something. December starts bare-root season with new roses and fruit trees coming into nurseries or available online. It's also a good time to move dormant perennials.

Here are other early December tasks to add to your list:

* Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. Beware of soggy soil. It can rot bare-root plants.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.

* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.

* Brighten the holidays with winter bloomers including calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies, primroses and snapdragons.

* Plant for spring, too, including sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

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

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Harvest lemons and other early citrus.

* Pick the last of the persimmons, pomegranates, pears and apples.

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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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