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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 30

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 29, 2018

A peach mummy hangs on a Babcock peach tree. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Watch out for 'mummies'; good time to prune and spray peaches

On this last December weekend, be on the lookout for mummies.

Peach mummies, to be specific. Clinging determinedly to branches, these strange shriveled black petrified fruit are full of fungal spores. Until the leaves fall, a peach mummy (or mummy peach) can be easily overlooked. But if a peach or nectarine tree bore brown-spotted fruit that quickly went bad, it most likely had brown rot. Those mummies are a sure sign.

Another symptom are blossoms that wilt or brown before bees have a chance to pollinate. That usually happens during wet springs followed by a summer with few peaches. Brown rot spores are again to blame.

Next to leaf curl, brown rot is among the most common peach tree problems in Sacramento. Fortunately, it's easily preventable. Get rid of the mummies.

Copper fungicide, the same treatment used to prevent peach leaf curl, also fights brown rot. A single application now can control both for 2019. These last days of 2018 look like ideal conditions for peach and nectarine tree maintenance. After the wind dies down, dry and clear weather is forecast until next Sunday.

Copper fungicide sprays need 24 hours of dry, calm weather before applying. With no rain or fog, this is a good window of opportunity. Among the copper fungicides available, Bonide Liquid Copper Fungicide is considered suitable for organic gardening. It's actually a copper soap that clings to branches and provides some extra protection.

If needed, prune before spraying. Remove any remaining leaves and those mummies. Dispose (don't compost) leaves and any infected twigs. After pruning, sterilize your pruners and loppers with disinfectant spray or wipes (Lysol works fine) or dip the blades in a gallon of water with 1/4 cup bleach.

Other gardening tasks for this final weekend of 2018:
* Clean and sharpen garden tools. You'll use those pruners a lot this season.
* Mulch, water and cover tender plants to protect them during threat of frost. Succulent plants are at particular risk if temperatures drop below freezing. Make sure to remove coverings during the day.
* Just because it rained doesn't mean every plant got watered. Give a drink to plants that the rain didn't reach, such as under eaves or under evergreen trees.
* Plant bare-root perennials, roses and fruit trees. Also available bare-root are berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.
* It's not too late to plant a winter garden. Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli can be planted now; use transplants for best success. Plant garlic and onions.
* Add a few more cool-weather annuals such as pansies, snapdragons, calendulas and stock.

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Sacramento peach leaf curl winter weather brown rot garden chores copper fungicide fruit trees bare-root plants winter annuals gardening pruning garden tools

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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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