Expect a wet finale to 2022 with widespread rain
Our bare trees will get some wet post-Christmas decoration from the predicted storms this next week. Make sure your garden is prepared for the returning rainy weather. Kathy Morrison
It looks like Northern California will get what it really needs this holiday season – rain.
According to the National Weather Service, the week after Christmas will be wet. Heavy rain is expected Monday through Friday, thanks to a series of late December storms. The weather service warned of potential impacts including road flooding, slick streets, rising creeks and rapid snow melt. The main question: When? Uncertainty surrounds the timing of each storm as well as amounts, says the weather service.
As of Saturday morning, the weather service predicts the first wave to hit the day after Christmas. Sacramento can expect morning fog on Monday followed by afternoon or evening rain. Those storms will build through the night along with gusty winds. Tuesday will see heavy rain especially early in the day.
More stormy weather is expected to hit Wednesday – or Thursday – or both – and hang around through Friday.
Bookending these storms are dry days on Christmas and New Year’s Day. (But still expect fog, says the weather service.)
Temperatures will be relatively mild: Low 50s in the afternoon and low 40s overnight. So frost danger is low, too.
Make the most of the gaps between storms. But beware of soggy soil; it can compact easily and rot new transplants.
* Rake up debris dropped by trees during storms. Keep drains clear.
* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.
* Prune roses.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.
* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storage.
* 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.
* If you have a living Christmas tree indoors, get it outdoors as soon as possible. Potted evergreens need light.
* Plant garlic and onions for harvest in summer.
* Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.
* Got bulbs? Plant them in pots.
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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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