Storms take a break over Christmas weekend, but keep umbrella close
Berries from this parasitic plant (and popular holiday decoration) feed hungry songbirds in winter
The gardening year gets off to a fast start
Watch out for leaning trees and cracked soil
City of Sacramento plans several Saturday pruning sessions in January and February
This succulent makes a great gift and can rebloom for many years to come
Recipe: Roasting squash increases the depth of flavor
Sacramento forecast calls for three days of steady rain
Temperature changes affect stone fruit and other crops
Easily found and budget-friendly items for gardeners
Whether cut or potted, these tips will help your evergreen stay fresh
Roseville offers two-month course designed for home gardeners; sign up now
Popular holiday plant comes in wide range of hues including several shades of pink
Recipe: Sweet potato latkes, served with applesauce and sour cream
Be prepared to chill: Frosty mornings return to Sacramento forecast
Green Acres offers ornament-themed container gardening workshop Dec. 16
Celebrate and support the amazing structure underfoot
Shop for unique gifts at this destination nursery (and much more)
American River Ranch hosts Saturday walks, workshop, produce stand and gift shop
The Secret Garden hosts hands-on mosaic classes in December and January
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 5
Take advantage of this break between storm systems to give your garden some much-needed TLC.
* 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.
* Apply horticultural oil to fruit trees soon after a rain 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, ranuculous and gladiolus 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.
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