Soil
Now is a good time to have your soil tested.
Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs
If you potted up some bulbs, such as hyacinths, daffodils or tulips, last September for winter forcing, keep an eye on them. Make sure they remain moist, and in the dark until they have established their root systems. It is possible that they have already filled their containers with roots and that the new top growth has begun. If this is so, bring them into the house and set them in a cool room, in indirect light. After a week or so, move them into bright light, and watch them go to town!
Check on any corms and tubers that you dug up, and stored this fall. Remove and discard any which show signs of disease or rot. Remove dead annuals from flowerbeds, dry and save seeds for next year.
Mulch your perennials to protect them from cold temperatures. This will also minimize soil loss from rain and snow.
Shrubs & Trees
Continue watering shrubs, trees, and especially evergreens (including broadleaved evergreens) until the soil freezes and cannot absorb more water. Plants need to go into winter with moisture around their roots. As long as the soil does not freeze and rainfall is less than adequate, continue watering these plants.
Pick bagworm cases from evergreens and destroy them. They contain eggs for a new generation of pests. Also, remove the silvery egg masses of tent caterpillars by hand.
If there is a sudden drop in the temperature, provide extra protection for your more tender flowering plants like camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and daphne. You can provide temporary, emergency protection by driving in three or four stakes around the plant, and then simply covering the plant with some type of cloth, like burlap, a sheet, or an old blanket. Do not let this material come into direct contact with the leaves of the plant. Remove the cover completely, as soon as the weather moderates.
December is a good month to take cuttings of rhododendrons, azaleas, and other evergreen shrubs. Take the cuttings from the new tip growth, and keep in bright light, at about 70°F.
Fruit
Mulch your strawberry bed with clean wheat straw once plant growth has ceased after a week of 20 to 40ºF temperatures, but before temperatures plunge to 5 to 10ºF. Use a bale of straw for each 40 ft. row. Fluff the straw and spread it over the row in a loose cover about 3 inches deep. Cover the entire plant.
Pick up fallen fruits around your trees. By removing a food source, you discourage rodents from moving into your neighborhood. If you already have rodents, use a tree guard to keep them from gnawing on the bark. Make one with hardware cloth formed into a cylinder and forced into the ground around the tree.
The Lawn
Allow the grass to go into winter cut at the regular 2- to 2½-inch height. Keep all leaves and debris off your lawn during winter. Stay off frozen grass, you will damage it!
Houseplants
Sponge off plants with glossy leaves such as philodendrons, rubber plants, and palms, to allow them to breathe. Plants that have fuzzy, textured, or other non-glossy type leaves should be set in the sink and sprayed gently with room temperature water, until the dust is gone. Provide your houseplants with extra humidity by grouping plants together, or by setting the pots on leak-proof trays filled with moistened pebbles. If you successfully kept last years plants alive, and have been keeping them in 14 hours of darkness since September, your poinsettias and Christmas cactus should be ready to bring back into the living room by the first week of December.
With the proper care, these Christmas plants will remain beautiful for many weeks. Keep them on the cool side, 65-70°F during the day and 55-60°F at night. In addition, keep them in bright, natural light whenever possible; keep them away from heat sources; keep them out of drafts; water them when they become dry and never allow them to stand in water for more than an hour. Move your houseplants to the sunniest window of your home. South or west exposures are usually best. Low light results in poor growth and leaf drop. Too much fertilizer and water, and too little light are the main causes of poor houseplant performance in the winter.
Odds & Ends
Take care of our feathered friends! Keep your bird feeder filled, especially when there is snow on the ground.
Do not let your hose freeze and burst. Stretch it out with both ends open, to allow the water to drain completely. Coil it up and put it away. Cover your outdoor faucets to protect them from freezing.
Clean and oil your garden tools for winter storage. Restock any tools that have seen better days, while the prices are lower.
Winterize your lawn mower. Empty the fuel tank. Change the oil. Buy replacement belts, spark plug, and air filter as needed and store them where you will be able to find them in the spring. Sharpen the blade, tune the engine, and clean off soil and matted grass. Then store the mower in a dry area.
Now is a good time to have your soil tested.
Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs
If you potted up some bulbs, such as hyacinths, daffodils or tulips, last September for winter forcing, keep an eye on them. Make sure they remain moist, and in the dark until they have established their root systems. It is possible that they have already filled their containers with roots and that the new top growth has begun. If this is so, bring them into the house and set them in a cool room, in indirect light. After a week or so, move them into bright light, and watch them go to town!
Check on any corms and tubers that you dug up, and stored this fall. Remove and discard any which show signs of disease or rot. Remove dead annuals from flowerbeds, dry and save seeds for next year.
Mulch your perennials to protect them from cold temperatures. This will also minimize soil loss from rain and snow.
Shrubs & Trees
Continue watering shrubs, trees, and especially evergreens (including broadleaved evergreens) until the soil freezes and cannot absorb more water. Plants need to go into winter with moisture around their roots. As long as the soil does not freeze and rainfall is less than adequate, continue watering these plants.
Pick bagworm cases from evergreens and destroy them. They contain eggs for a new generation of pests. Also, remove the silvery egg masses of tent caterpillars by hand.
If there is a sudden drop in the temperature, provide extra protection for your more tender flowering plants like camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and daphne. You can provide temporary, emergency protection by driving in three or four stakes around the plant, and then simply covering the plant with some type of cloth, like burlap, a sheet, or an old blanket. Do not let this material come into direct contact with the leaves of the plant. Remove the cover completely, as soon as the weather moderates.
December is a good month to take cuttings of rhododendrons, azaleas, and other evergreen shrubs. Take the cuttings from the new tip growth, and keep in bright light, at about 70°F.
Fruit
Mulch your strawberry bed with clean wheat straw once plant growth has ceased after a week of 20 to 40ºF temperatures, but before temperatures plunge to 5 to 10ºF. Use a bale of straw for each 40 ft. row. Fluff the straw and spread it over the row in a loose cover about 3 inches deep. Cover the entire plant.
Pick up fallen fruits around your trees. By removing a food source, you discourage rodents from moving into your neighborhood. If you already have rodents, use a tree guard to keep them from gnawing on the bark. Make one with hardware cloth formed into a cylinder and forced into the ground around the tree.
The Lawn
Allow the grass to go into winter cut at the regular 2- to 2½-inch height. Keep all leaves and debris off your lawn during winter. Stay off frozen grass, you will damage it!
Houseplants
Sponge off plants with glossy leaves such as philodendrons, rubber plants, and palms, to allow them to breathe. Plants that have fuzzy, textured, or other non-glossy type leaves should be set in the sink and sprayed gently with room temperature water, until the dust is gone. Provide your houseplants with extra humidity by grouping plants together, or by setting the pots on leak-proof trays filled with moistened pebbles. If you successfully kept last years plants alive, and have been keeping them in 14 hours of darkness since September, your poinsettias and Christmas cactus should be ready to bring back into the living room by the first week of December.
With the proper care, these Christmas plants will remain beautiful for many weeks. Keep them on the cool side, 65-70°F during the day and 55-60°F at night. In addition, keep them in bright, natural light whenever possible; keep them away from heat sources; keep them out of drafts; water them when they become dry and never allow them to stand in water for more than an hour. Move your houseplants to the sunniest window of your home. South or west exposures are usually best. Low light results in poor growth and leaf drop. Too much fertilizer and water, and too little light are the main causes of poor houseplant performance in the winter.
Odds & Ends
Take care of our feathered friends! Keep your bird feeder filled, especially when there is snow on the ground.
Do not let your hose freeze and burst. Stretch it out with both ends open, to allow the water to drain completely. Coil it up and put it away. Cover your outdoor faucets to protect them from freezing.
Clean and oil your garden tools for winter storage. Restock any tools that have seen better days, while the prices are lower.
Winterize your lawn mower. Empty the fuel tank. Change the oil. Buy replacement belts, spark plug, and air filter as needed and store them where you will be able to find them in the spring. Sharpen the blade, tune the engine, and clean off soil and matted grass. Then store the mower in a dry area.
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