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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 29

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 28, 2019

Be sure to strip any remaining leaves off roses when you prune them, then

clean up leaves and debris underneath. Fresh mulch is a good idea, too. Then
this Lady Hamilton rose will be all ready for spring growth. (Photo: Debbie

Soft ground makes for easy transplanting

Enjoy the winter sun while you can. This has been a rainy December in Sacramento, which is a good thing. It's replenishing our gardens' reserves.

So far, this month's rain totals (4.54 inches) are 60 percent more than last December, with more on the way. But after Sunday's storms, we're expected to get a string of bright, sunny (and chilly) days. The ground is soft, which makes for easy transplanting. Take advantage of it.

This is a great time to plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs -- even if it's still rainy. If the weather stays wet and your ground seems saturated, consider planting your garden additions in large black plastic pots. This method really gets roses off to a fast start.

The black plastic warms up faster than the ground soil and gives roots a healthy boost. Then, transplant the new addition (rootball and all) into the ground in April as the weather turns to spring.

Elsewhere in the garden during these last days of 2019 and the first of a new decade:

* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* 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. This also cuts down on fungal disease.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* Enjoy sunny winter days by planting for spring. 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 gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.

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seeds Sacramento roses garden chores bare-root plants winter annuals gardening pruning cool-weather vegetables mulch shrubs dormant trees checklist bulbs

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Garden Checklist for week of Sept. 8

Temperatures are headed down to normal. The rest of the month kicks off fall planting season:

* Harvest tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant.

* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.

* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.

* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies.

* Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.

* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.

* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with “eyes” about an inch below the soil surface.

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