Article and photos by Peg Smith -
Amongst all the hustle and bustle of the winter holiday season, we often fall into a reflective mood as the calendar year-end approaches. An ideal time to look back on your year in the garden, not to harshly judge gardening efforts that may not have equaled your ambitions, but to learn and build on those experiences for the next year.
A great way to follow the ups and downs of any garden, beginning or mature, is to keep a journal to record weather effects, seed planting dates, new varieties of vegetables, tried and evaluated, goals abandoned, adjusted, or successful. Special moments when the light in the garden shows the culmination of your time and efforts, a particular bird or butterfly enjoying the fruits of your labor, can inform how to progress to the next season and year. A wise person once told me, “There is a gift in every day to be found.” Gardens seem to provide so many daily gifts.
Winter brings a smorgasbord of seed catalogues to tempt any gardener’s appetite. Seed packets in general now contain fewer seeds, but usually still plenty to share with a friend. Sharing seed orders with another gardener is a great idea. This reduces the problem of the often-repeated process of looking at a seed packet, noting it is a year or so old, deciding not to risk low germination, purchasing ‘fresh’ seed, then putting the older seed pack back in the storage box ‘just in case’ it is needed.
A NOTE TO PET OWNERS: Gifts of plants, bulbs, flowers (and chocolates) are common at this time of year; cats and dogs can be tempted to try to eat these new additions. The ASPCA has extensive lists of Plants Toxic and Non-toxic to Cats and Plants Toxic and Non-Toxic to Dogs. The toxicity, quantity consumed, the weight, and general health of the pet animal are factors in the effects of any consumption of plant material. The ASPCA has a poison control center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at (888) 426-4435 if you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance. A consultation fee may apply.
Water
After the latest rain (1.65 inches in my backyard), the soil is well soaked. Now is a good time to adjust your automatic watering systems to manual operation, hopefully, winter storms continue to deliver. Dormant plants still need damp soil; if we enter an extended dry period, they may need a deep soak.
Check pots to make sure they are watered regularly if sheltered by eaves. If they are waterlogged from dense rainfall, move to a more sheltered position.
In the rainy season, it is important to walk as little as possible in the garden, as well-soaked soil will compact with each step, reducing the air circulation in the soil and making root penetration harder for plants. A piece of board laid on the soil to walk on can be moved wherever needed; it will distribute weight more evenly while allowing access to the garden.
Winter Preparations
Be ready to protect frost-sensitive plants. Plastic, clear or black, is not recommended as a plant cover for frost protection. Old sheets and towels work well. Be sure the material isn't touching the plant once covered. Commercial frost-protecting materials are available. Make sure plants are well watered before a frost. Well-hydrated plants will survive a heavy frost more easily than a plant that is underwatered.
Smaller citrus trees are susceptible to a heavy frost; an old string of holiday lights can provide additional warmth overnight. The newer LED lights do not generate enough heat to be helpful. For more detailed information, see UC ANR’s publication on Frost Protection for Citrus and Other Subtropicals.
Clean unused pots with a solution of bleach, one part bleach to nine parts of water. Turn pots and trays upside down so that water does not accumulate.
Clean up fallen branches, prune broken branches, and check street gutters and drains for leaf accumulation.
Winter is a good time to assess tools; do they need replacing, sharpening, cleaning, or adjusting? One consideration as we gardeners age is when to invest in ergonomically friendly garden tools so that we can continue the pleasure of gardening while preserving physical strength. Adjusting to an hour or two in the garden, breaking tasks into smaller parts with built-in rests, will help maintain all the wonderful work invested in a garden without it becoming overwhelming.
Ornamentals and Annuals
Late December through February is rose pruning season. How to Prune a Hybrid Tea Rose is a helpful video that shows the tools and techniques of pruning roses to get the best from these wonderful plants. For additional information on rose pruning, see the UC Master Gardeners of Solano publication Pruning and Care of Roses.
Some common cool-season perennials to plant are cyclamen, hellebores, daphne, and iberis. There are many delightful winter annuals in varying colors that can be seeded; some we often see in nurseries, for others, it is worth finding seed to grow and add to the palette of spring color.
Common winter annuals – pansies, violas, snapdragons, calendula, and stock flowers.
Easy to seed annuals – love-in-a-mist, larkspur, foxgloves, alyssum, and borage. Nasturtiums can be seeded and do well in containers; trailing varieties are available for hanging baskets. Sweet peas will provide a showing if given a trellis to climb; there are many colors and scents. Many of these annuals will reseed for the coming years.
Hollyhocks are biennial, producing root and foliage in their first year with flowers on tall spikes in the second year, and are worth the wait.
California annuals – California poppies can be seeded in a bare patch of the garden. Sprinkle the seed and rake very lightly, keep moist through dry periods. Tidy tips, baby-blue-eyes, tarweed (Madia elegans), and clarkia can be seeded into pots and then transplanted.
Many perennials, native and non-native, are available at this time of year. Planted now, they will spend the winter developing healthy root systems before the heat of next summer.
The UC ANR Yolo County Master Gardener webpage Free Garden Pubs & Pest Notes has useful lists of shade plants, water-wise plants, California Natives, and others that will thrive in our region.
Diseases, Pests, and Beneficials
Keep an eye out and remove any diseased plants. Before you place them in your compost, check with UCIPM to identify the disease. Home compost temperatures will not be hot enough to kill some disease fungal spores or bacterium.
Bulbs
December is prime bulb planting time for those bulbs with which we are familiar, such as daffodils and narcissus. Different types of bulbs, corms, and rhizomes can be planted year-round, and as they emerge and bloom, they will add to the seasonal beauty of your garden.
Selections of bulbs can be found locally or ordered online and shipped at the appropriate time for planting in our area. The Sacramento Bulb Planting Schedule is a handy reference.
Fruits
Schedule time to dormant oil spray (Neem oil) your fruit trees. Many bacterial, fungal diseases, and pests will be controlled by a program of dormant spraying, usually two to three times over the winter months, once the trees are bare. Watch the weather and spray when the following 24 to 48 hours are rain-free. Wait for leaf fall before pruning fruit trees. Dormant fruit tree pruning encourages growth in the spring from buds just below pruning cuts. For more information, see these two publications from UC ANR: Fruit Trees: Training and Pruning Deciduous Trees and Winter Fruit Tree Care.
Citrus fruits: oranges, mandarins, etc., are bountiful at this time of year. Depending on garden size limitations, it is possible to have a variety of citrus ripening throughout the year, something to consider for the home orchard. UC ANR has a handy chart - Citrus Ripening Time by Month.
Bare root fruits available later in the month are grapes, berries, Kiwi, and rhubarb (prefers afternoon shade).
Trees
If you are considering adding trees to the landscape, there are resources that can help guide your choices towards a ‘right tree, right place’ decision. Characteristics of a tree and where it is positioned in the landscape can make the difference between enjoying its addition to the garden or eventually finding it a nuisance. Another important aspect of the choice is whether it is ‘climate-ready’ for our region.
The City of Davis and the UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden worked with CAL FIRE, Tree Davis, UC Agriculture and National Resources, USDA Forest Service, Redwood Barn Nursery, as well as several local tree experts to provide a list of Climate Ready Trees for our area.
The City of Woodland offers a Residential Street Tree Rebate along with an Approved Master Street Tree List.
The City of Winters also provides a Master Tree List.
By referring to these recommended tree lists, the selection of a tree of the height, canopy width, and characteristics to suit both the site and the aesthetic of the garden should give years of pleasure.
Soil Improvement
‘Green manure’ can still be seeded in any garden's bare spots. Vetch and red clover, with their attractive flowers, can be planted separately or mixed. They will replenish nitrogen in the soil through the winter and help prevent erosion. Fava beans are also a good cover crop. UC ANR’s publication Winter Cover Crops for the Home Garden can give you more details.
December Vegetable Planting Guide
Click the thumbnail image on the right to open a larger image or the link below to open a PDF of Peg's December Vegetable Planting Guide. This guide will tell you which Yolo County and Sacramento area vegetables are recommended for planting during the month of December, along with how and when to plant them.