Find gift ideas, food and plants galore
Sacramento-area textile artists model their one-of-a-kind creations, then hold big sale.
We also have tips on how to seed them without a mess
Citrus season starts just as days get shorter and chillier
Rainy conditions expected to be followed by cold nights
Bigger site will have much more parking
Registration required for Sunday event near Davis
Find great plants perfect for our climate
November starts with some nice steady rain
New invasive mosquito found in Sacramento County
It’s persimmon season! Try them in a baked pudding
Expect perfect weather this Halloween weekend, but change is on the way -- and (maybe) some rain!
Lauded magazine focused on water-wise gardening
Workshop coincides with Open Garden Day at Sherwood Demonstration Garden
A morning of family fun features crafts, music, a maze and more
Fun seasonal workshop at Relles Florist
Schools, community groups encouraged to apply
Pumpkin and herbed greens fill appetizers fit for a party
Cooler weather also brings gusty winds to Northern California
Find a new flower vase or special plant container
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12
Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:
* 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. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) 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.
* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* 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 gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.