Storms take a break over Christmas weekend, but keep umbrella close
Rose growers may still have a winter rose or two, such as this Fountain Square hybrid tea rose, but it's time to start pruning the dormant plants. Kathy Morrison
It looks like Mother Nature will give us a break over this long Christmas weekend with dry weather – better for driving and for gardening (and for delivering gifts).
But more storms appear to be on the way, arriving as soon as Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect some more wet weather, sooner than later. How much remains uncertain.
“Active weather pattern returns the middle of next week, bringing the potential for widespread rain and mountain snow,”the NWS Sacramento office posted Saturday.
Exact timing of this next round of storms is uncertain, says the weather service, noting that the weather pattern is “unsettled.” Expect a quick hit of rain Wednesday and Thursday, followed by more stormy weather right into the New Year.
There’s still a lot of moisture in the ground, and that contributes to patchy fog every morning before the rain arrives. Overnight lows are staying relatively warm, dipping to about 40 degrees. Once the fog clears, daytime highs will edge close to 60 degrees.
Make the most of time between storms – and work off some of those holiday calories. Get outside and get to work.
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* 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.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* When it’s too wet to get outside, browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs. If your ground seems saturated, consider planting your garden additions in large black plastic pots. The black plastic will warm up faster than the ground soil and give roots a healthy start. Then transplant the new addition (rootball and all) into the ground in April as the weather warms.
* 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 (but not in soggy soil).
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.
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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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