Tip of the Month

January 2012

Santa may have put away his sleigh for the year. Snow flurries might be swirling by the windows. Our plants are sleeping, but gardeners are dreaming about the time when the smell of spring will be in the air once again.

Look out the window … what do you see? Do you focus on a lot of bare limbs and dead bushes? Now, look closer and see the structure of the twisting curving limbs or the unique variations in bark. Crepe myrtles, sycamore trees, birch trees, or paper bark maples are a just a few gardening beauties that have unique bark to enjoy in the winter months.   Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick and weeping Japanese maples truly showcase nature’s wonderfully varied branching patterns from the wild twists to the graceful arches.

Pruning is a good winter activity in the garden. The branches are easier to see, and there is less shock to the plants when plants are dormant. Remember never to remove more than one-third of the plant. For those gardeners in the south, this includes crepe myrtles; help stop “Crepe Murder” and use only pruners and loppers, not your chainsaw on your beautiful crepe myrtles. When pruning is done, the crepe myrtle should look like more than a bare single trunk. Start out by removing any crossing branches or branches that are touching. Then step back and look at the overall shape of the plant, removing branches that improve the plant’s shape. If you are pruning flowering shrubs, always verify the correct time of year to prune so you do not prune off next year’s flower buds.

January has arrived and it’s the perfect time to plan for bountiful vegetable gardens, perennial gardens filled with sweet nectar for the beautiful butterflies, and the vibrant colors of annuals. Get out your seed catalogs and favorite gardening books and daydream of the warm days to come. Winter fantasies can become the reality of your spring and summer.