Winter Tips and Holiday Greetings from the Evening Garden Club

Winter Tips and Holiday Greetings from the Evening Garden Club

Pyracantha ‘Yukon Belle’

*Visit local nurseries over the winter months to see plants which will add winter color and interest to your garden.  Don’t miss evergreen ferns and native groundcovers – you’ll be surprised! 

*Check that frost has not lifted ground around newly planted shrubs and trees.  If it has, stamp ground down firmly.

*Check that wind has not rocked newly planted evergreens – they are more susceptible than deciduous trees.

* Don’t leave heavy mulch or evergreen boughs over emerging bulb foliage.

Hellebore “Gold Collection” ‘Snow Fever’ 

    Pyracantha ‘Yukon Belle’

                                                                  

*Roses still blooming? They need to go dormant to thrive next year.  Prune lightly and remove all foliage. Allow buds and hips to form.

*Lime soil where dahlias will be planted next year – 5lbs:100 square feet, every three years.

*Add a thorough CARE tag to any plant you give as a holiday gift. There’s nothing sadder than killing a plant you’ve been given by a loved one.

*Read January garden magazines and look at websites now for the newest annual flower and vegetable introductions.

*If you want to use and plant a live Christmas tree:

--Acclimate it in an unheated garage both before and after its time in the house.

--Don’t keep it in the house more than a week.

-- Keep root ball moist but not sopping and coat needles with an anti-dessicant spray.

-- Plant ASAP in an appropriate full sun location with plenty of space to reach its potential.

*Great garden book for a gift: Month-by-Month Gardening in Washington & Oregonby Mary Robson with Christina Pfeiffer – many of these tips originated there!

MOST IMPORTANT WINTER TIP:

*Attend the Evening Garden Club’s Annual Greens’ Party, 7:00 pm December 3, 2018!  Bring greens and plant material to share and learn to make wreaths and decorations.  Shepherd of the Valley Church.

more at www.corvalliseveninggardenclub.org

What to do in the Garden in December

Maintenance/Clean up-

·     Rake leaves to mulch flower or vegetable beds, adding extra layers over marginally tender plants.  Leaves naturally decompose to return nutrients and improve the soil.  If they are taken away yearly, soil is gradually depleted and impoverished.

·     Clearing weeds and mulch a few inches around tree trunks prevents rodent and rot problems.

·     Hoe, pull, or (best) thickly mulch winter weeds.  

·      Protect newly planted trees from wind with windbreaks or guying. Use stretchabletree chain, arbor tie, or even old bicycle inner-tubes to tieon the windward side.  Be sure to loosen them in spring to allow for more growth and movement. The swaying of the trunk makes it grow stronger. Trees should never be tied in place longer than one year. 

·     Protect nutrients in compost pile from heavy rains with tarps or structures.

Planting/Propagation-

·     It’s still a good time to plant trees and shrubs to establish before summer drought hits!

·     Check that seeds are sealed up in a cool area.

Landscaping-

·     Consider adding rain gardens and bioswales to your landscape to capture rainwater.  Check out the Oregon Rain Garden Guide for ideas and plant lists.  

What to do in the Garden in December

Maintenance/Clean up
Rake leaves to mulch flower or vegetable beds, adding extra layers over marginally tender plants.

·      Clearing weeds and mulch a few inches around tree trunks prevents rodent and rot problems.

·      Protect compost pile from heavy rains to save nutrients. Tarps or structures are great for this.

·      Hoe, pull, or thoroughly mulch winter weeds. 

·      Check stored bulbs, veggies, and fruit for rot. 

·      Protect newly planted trees from wind. Use tree chain, arbor tie, or even old bicycle inner-tubes to tie and/or windbreaks as needed.  Be sure to loosen them in spring to allow for more growth and movement.  The swaying of the trunk makes it grow stronger. Trees should never be tied in place longer than one year. 

·      Spread wood ashes thinly on vegetable garden.

Planting/Propagation-

·      Great time to plant trees and shrubs.

 Check that seeds are sealed up tightly and in a cool or cold area, though not freezing.

·      During heavy rains, watch for drainage problems in the yard. Ditching and French drains are possible short-term solutions. Consider rain gardens and bioswales as a longer-term solution and a fun excuse to landscape. 

Check out the Oregon Rain Garden Guide for plant choices and other ideas you can use in your own rain garden.  Once you click the link, look for the free pdf at the very bottom of the page -Oregon Rain Garden Guide

What to do in the Garden in December

These are reminders of key garden chores, such as fertilizing,  planting, maintenance, and pest control for this month. These are for reference only and no one need feel like they should do everything on the list even if they do all apply to your yard.  Gardening should be fun!  Just do what you can and pick the things that are most important to you first.

Maintenance and Clean Up

•   Protect new landscape plants from wind. Use stakes, guy wires (with some flexibility) and/or windbreaks as needed.  Plan to loosen wires in spring to allow for growth and some movement.  The swaying of the trunk encourages it to grow stronger. Trees should not be tied in place longer than one growing season, in most cases. See this article for more.

Stake 1/3 up the tree if necessary.  Allow some flexibility.
Photo from University of Minnesota.

•   Rake leaves and use to mulch flowerbeds or make a compost pile if you have space.  See this list of OSU extension articles for more.  If leaves have significant disease problems, as in some rose, tomato, or fruit tree leaves, for example,  it may be best to hot compost or place them in yard debris bins. See this article about hot compost
•   If you have a compost pile already, turn the pile and protect from heavy rains to protect nutrients from being washed away.
•   You can also start getting a new bed ready for spring planting by simply piling leaves on very thickly (10-20") to kill grass.   This head start plus keeping plenty of mulch around new plantings will improve the soil and give your plants a great spot to grow without competition or herbicides.  

The dark leaves have just been brought in to start a new bed that will save us from mowing
 around the trees and add habitat value. The lighter leaves were raked up from those trees earlier and used to mulch existing beds- preventing weeds, improving soil, protecting tender plants, conserving moisture come summer time, and saving us time doing too much raking and weeding.  Yay leaves!

•   Hoe or pull winter weeds.  If you have a patch with many weeds, you may save time by covering them with cardboard and then mulching over the cardboard.  Just hoe any survivors.  There won't be many.

Cardboard weed suppression.  Cover with mulch of your choice.

•   Spread wood ashes evenly on the vegetable garden. Use no more than 1.5 lb/100 sq ft/year. Don't use if the soil pH is greater than 7.0 or if potassium levels are excessive.  

•   During heavy rains, watch for drainage problems in the yard. Ditching and French drains are possible short-term solutions. Consider rain gardens and bioswales as a longer-term solution and a fun excuse to do some landscaping.  See this download of a booklet from the City of Portland with photographs and rain garden design, construction, and planting information.  Don't forget to click on the download. 

Three year old rain garden.  It has river rock (3" drainage rock) mulching the bottom of the ponding area, but the native strawberry has spread with such exuberance that it is hard to see.  This ponding area absorbs all of the rain from the small barn so quickly that standing water is never visible, even during a downpour.  Plants in and around the rain garden include native shrubs and rushes, flowering perennials, grasses, and fruit trees.

•   Check stored flower bulbs, fresh vegetables, and fruits for rot and fungus problems. Discard any showing signs of rot.

•   Tie limbs of columnar evergreens to prevent snow or ice breakage.

•   If possible, avoid walking on frosty lawns until frost has melted.

•   If you have landscape plants in protected sites that don’t receive rain, remember to water them occasionally during the winter. 

Planting/Propagation

•   Good time of year to plant trees and landscape shrubs.  See this article for how to's and information about a helpful new app for tablets. 

Dig the hole twice as wide, but no deeper than the pot.
A garbage bag  under the loose soil makes clean up easy.

•   Check that your seeds are sealed up tightly somewhere cool or cold.  A small packet of silica gel or dry milk can help absorb any residual moisture.

Pest Monitoring and Management

•   Monitor landscape plants for problems. Don't treat unless a problem is identified.

•   Check for rodent damage around bases of trees and large shrubs. Remove weeds to prevent rodents from using them as hiding places.

•   Avoid mounding mulching materials around the bases of trees and shrubs. The mulch might provide cover for rodents.

•   Monitor spruce trees for spruce aphids. Treat only if present in large numbers. Read and follow pesticide label directions. 

•   Identify problems before acting, and opt for the least toxic approach. Cultural, physical and biological controls are the cornerstones of a sustainable pest management program. Use chemical controls only after you identify a pest problem and carefully read the pesticide label. Least-toxic choices are insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, botanical insecticides and organic and synthetic pesticides. These recommendations might not apply to all areas of Oregon. For more information, contact MasterGardeners by phone or email on this website. 

Houseplants and Indoor Gardening

•   Protect poinsettias from cold, place in sunlight, don't let leaves touch cold windows; fertilize with houseplant fertilizer to maintain leaf color.

Monitor houseplants for adequate water and fertilizer. Water and fertilizer requirements generally are less in winter.

Please comment and ask questions!  We'd love to hear from you!