January Planting Guide

Bedding Plants

     Keep the old, spent flowers of cool-season bedding plants picked off to encourage continued blooming and fertilize if needed. Keep winter weeds in check by applying mulch at a 2-to-4-inch depth. Pine straw, leaves and pine bark are all excellent choices. Plant chilled tulips and hyacinths into the garden this month.

In The Lawn

      If you over-seeded with annual ryegrass, mow regularly to keep the lawn looking tidy. If winter weeds are bad, it is safe to apply broad leaf weed killer following label directions, or hand pull them.

Ornamental Trees, Citrus/Fruits Tress & Shrubs

      This is a great time to plant trees and shrubs while temperatures are down. This is also a good time to relocate established trees and shrubs that you want moved elsewhere in the yard. Be sure to go out a foot or more from the trunk of the tree or shrub to get an adequate root ball. Water newly transplanted trees in well to help encourage new root growth. Fruiting trees cover tender fruit trees, such as citrus, when temperatures are set to drop into the mid-20s overnight. Wrap or drape the plants with canvas or another type of fabric extending all the way to the ground. Place the cover on trees during the day to trap radiant heat coming up from the soil. Fertilize citrus at the end of January to early February. Apply 1 to 1 ½ pounds of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13 per year of tree. Year one equals 1 to 1 ½ pounds, year two equals 2 to 3 pounds and year three equals 3 to 4 ½, and so on.

Pruning

     Repeat-flowering roses generally are pruned twice a year -- in late January to early February and again in late August to early September. Hold off pruning cold-damaged woody tropicals, such as hibiscus and angel trumpet, until spring. At that time, look for new growth and then cut the plant back appropriately. 

Vegetables

     Vegetables to plant in January include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, garden peas, Irish potatoes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mustard, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips. Plant seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in small pots in greenhouses or under lights indoors. Cover tender growth if you are expecting freezing temperatures with frost cloth, also known as reemay. If your vegetables need a boost of fertilizer, side-dress with a teaspoon of complete fertilizer placed a couple of inches from the base of the plant