HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that each and every one of you had your Holiday Wishes come true. If Santa didn't quite bring you exactly what you asked for, then you may be able to pick up some bargains priced just right for you to take home. Don't forget to check on some of the gardening equipment needs for the coming spring season. You may find this to be just the right time of the year to pick up the items that will make your spring gardening chores easier to handle this year.

We have a listing of the gardening chores for January which might interest you. So button up for cold weather and look for those days that you can get outside comfortably to work on some of the plans you have for the coming spring. Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, there are still chores that can be performed inside.

Don't forget your indoor plants which have been brought in to rest. Keep them watered (moist to touch) and provide them with enough light to continue their growth. Avoid cold or hot air drafts and the temptation of over watering the plants. I like to group my plants together so that each plants respiration and transpiration will provide additional humidity for the other surrounding plants.

January Garden Chores

• Enroll in classes! Read and study up on ideas you would like to achieve for this year. Don't forget to include your New Year's Gardening Resolutions...Thou Shalt Not...
• 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.
• Continue planting container grown ornamentals. 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.
• Plant Fruit Trees in the Landscape. The 2008 seed and nursery catalogs have already started arriving and this will trigger "spring fever" for many gardeners. Those beautiful apples and pears on the cover are very persuasive to many homeowners so, go ahead and incorporate some fruit trees in the landscape.
• Add lime according to soil test recommendations. For best results in home landscapes, till the lime into the root zone area for whatever plant you intend to grow. Surface applied lime reacts very slowly, and not as completely as lime mixed into the soil. The sooner the lime is applied in the winter, the more ready you'll be for spring planting.
• Ornamental Grass tops should be cut back now. On old established clumps prune back to 2' or so, with the younger plantings simply tipped back to remove the brown foliage.
• If you have rose bushes, rake the fallen leaves and discard them as many disease organisms persist through the winter. Covering them up with new mulch will not solve your disease problems.
• Pansies are by far the most popular winter landscape annual. Deadhead periodically to ensure more blooms. During active growth in the spring fertilize them about once a month. A dilute liquid feed of 5:10:10 or 5:10:30 will keep them going and growing.
• Be prepared just on the chance there may actually be some more winter weather ahead of us. Don't let unseasonably mild temperatures dictate what you do in the landscape.
• Poinsettia's keeping quality depends on several factors. Many home gardeners have no problem keeping a poinsettia attractive through the winter, but bringing it into "flower" in subsequent years is a challenge for the best of gardeners. They are still considered actively growing and will need water, sunlight, and fertilizing through February.