December Garden Chores by David Barkley

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Landscape plantings still can be made at this time of the year. The one major consideration is the soil condition. Wet soils, especially wet, clay soils, are rather unforgiving. Find something else to do until it dries off. If you have purchased plants and are waiting for the soil to dry, be sure the plants don't dry out in the meantime. Keep them watered and consider 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.

• Draw up a landscape design that can be installed in the spring while the winter takes you away from outdoor activities.
• Order supplies for the coming spring gardening plans.
• Repair, maintain, and store equipment needed for the coming season. Now is a good time to shop around and bargain for some good prices on equipment you will need later.
• When the weather is bad bring out your notes from gardening last year and devise strategies to overcome problems you faced last year.
• Don't have notes? Try to summarize your garden's performance and make yourself a note that you need to keep detailed notes of plant performances for the coming year. Sit down to a computer and enter your notes for fast retrieval for next year.
• Enroll in classes! Read and study up on ideas you would like to achieve for next year. Don't forget to include your New Year's Gardening Resolutions...Thou Shalt Not...
• Tip pruning can be done this month. Many evergreens are used in various Christmas decorations. Both the foliage and the berries of many favorites including the holly species, nandina, pines and cedars are popular for decorating the house. Remember not to make heavy "renovative" type pruning cuts until late winter.
• Continue to plant spring flowering bulbs..
• Think water garden and have it ready for spring. There are numerous sources of information and construction materials for these type projects. Garden centers and mass merchandising garden stores are handling pool liners, pumps, and aquatic plants.
• Give gardening tools and subscriptions to landscaping magazines as gifts.
• Order fruit trees adapted to your area now and designate shipping dates that avoid hard frozen ground problems when planting. Order now, plant later philosophy.
• Continue mulching and composting chores. Your plants will love the added benefits and mulching landscape plants now may help them survive the winter. Along with the mulching, you will need to watch out for animal damage to the trunk base. Voles love to feed on the bark of plants and may become a pest in the winter.
• The dead tops of many perennials can be removed. Frost has killed back the top growth of most of our favorite perennials. This includes Mexican Bush Sage, Pineapple Sage, Cannas, Coneflower, Rudbeckia, Peonies, and Veronica.
• The tops of others are still green, and they don't need to be completely trimmed back. These might include Liriope, Daylily, Tansy and Hollyhock. Just a general cleanup of any brown foliage is necessary at this time. Some perennials, although dormant during the winter, offer winter interest. Don't cut the tops back until the early spring cleanup. This list includes Sedum, and the many ornamental grasses we're now growing.
• Apply broadleaf herbicides to control winter annual and perennial weeds. Watch for dry, windy conditions with low relative humidity that can damage turf. It may be necessary to irrigate periodically to help the grass survive.
• Coastal lawns if not already dormant will soon be. Continue to mow, rake leaves, and water during dry spells.
• Good soil preparation is essential for winter annuals and spring flowering bulbs. Try to till as deep as possible to eliminate any compaction problems, incorporate topsoil, organic matter and lime before planting, and finish with a 2 3 inch layer of mulch.
• Continue planting container grown ornamentals this fall; be sure to loosen the roots and the media before backfilling. For slightly pot bound roots: Cut on 3 4 sides, shake the roots and media to a loose condition and then plant.

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