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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 23

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 22, 2018

Plant pansies now to instantly brighten up the winter garden. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Focus on holiday plants; keep them looking fresh

With the holidays upon us and rainy weather, we’ll be more focused this first week of winter indoors than outside.

The key to keeping holiday plants looking fresh? Make them feel comfortable.

* Treat cut Christmas trees like a giant flower. They need water; otherwise, they dry out and become more susceptible to fire danger. (Dry trees also shed needles like crazy.) Check the water bowl under the tree daily; a 6-foot tree drinks a lot.

* If you have a living Christmas tree, make sure it stays watered. Check the soil; it should be moist, not soggy. Try to get these young evergreens outdoors as soon as possible. More than a week inside can weaken the tree.

* Poinsettias can be fussy. They like it cool; six hours of indirect light in the low to mid-60s; dark nights at 55 degrees. Make sure to take off the foil wrapper or punch holes for drainage. More on poinsettias here: https://bit.ly/2PW6Moz

When you do get outside:

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.

* Turn fallen leaves into mulch. Chop up larger leaves with a lawn mower.

* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.

* Bare-root season is under way. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. Roses and fruit trees are available, too. No time to plant? Hydrate the roots in a bucket of water with 1 teaspoon bleach. They’ll keep for at least two or three days.

* Brighten your new year with winter bloomers such as calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses.

* Get any remaining spring bulbs in the ground.

* Transplant lettuce, cabbage, chard, kale, peas and greens.

* Plant from seed, cloves or sets: peas, fava beans, greens, beets, radishes, onions and garlic.

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CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

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Keywords:

Sacramento garden chores bare-root plants leaves winter annuals gardening holiday decor holiday plants mulch poinsettias Christmas trees transplants

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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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