December Garden Chores by David Barkley

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You may wish to consider the following chores to perform at this time of the year:

• Continue to plant trees and shrubs in the landscape. Keep them watered and use winter protection if necessary. Keeping them in a barn or garage for a few days to protect the root ball from freezing should be considered if cold weather is expected around planting time.
• Clean up the water garden. Remove floating leaves and algae from the water and discard any dead plant material. If there are any tender plants needing protection from freezing temperatures (tropical lilies etc.) remove them to a heated structure. If there are fish in the pool, be sure to maintain at least 18 20 inches of water all winter long.
• Remove leaves which have fallen on the turf. A leaf blower is more likely to remove leaves without disturbing the mulch when the leaves are dry. Run the blower on low and remove the leaves often or at least before they pile up.
• Recycle mums into the perennial border. Keep them watered and fertilized. Cut back next year and you should have a good display next fall.
• Seeds that mature and are shed from trees in the fall should be collected and sown immediately into prepared beds or containers. They generally will germinate the following spring. Acorns usually require removing the caps from the acorn. Dogwoods and magnolia seed should have the outer red covering soften by soaking the seed in water. Red maple seeds ripen in the spring and should be collected and sown immediately after harvesting.
• Pinch tops of pansies and snapdragons to remove stocky growth.
• Prune lantana to 1/3 its height and spread.
• Check camellias and azaleas for spider mites and treat with insecticidal soap if mites are found.
• Remove older canes of raspberries and blackberries.
• Remove dead vegetable plants from the garden to prevent insects and diseases from over-wintering.
• Treat scales with a dormant oil spray applied to the branches and stems where scales are attached.
• If you removed your bird feeder during the summer, now is the time to put the feeder back out.
• Shrubs and Trees: If you see neatly cut limbs falling off pecan, hickory or persimmon they are probably the result of the pecan twig girdler. This insect lays eggs in the twigs and then cuts them. They fall later. Destroying the limbs over the winter will kill the eggs or larvae. However, insects may fly in from adjacent woodlands. During heavy infestations, these insects have been known to girdle pear, grape and linden trees in addition to their preferred host.

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