Happy New Year!
I love this time of year. There is time and mental space to think about what you wish to grow and why. I spend time staring out at the landscape and can call it productive. Resolve this year to be a more conscientious caretaker of plants and your immediate environment. Take the time now to make plans. And maybe spread that energy and resolve to help others take care of our larger environment as the year unfolds.
Before I get too dreamy, there are a few things to check off the list.
For now, outdoors, gather what snow still remains and mound up and over small young perennial plants. The layer of snow will insulate the stems and help protect them from winter burn.
Monitor evergreens after a heavy snowfall. The snow can weigh down and break branches. Before ice forms, visit any snow-laden plants and gently lift boughs with a shovel handle, ski pole, or broomstick to shake snow off the boughs. If you want a snow bath, walk under the branches and shake them. That is effective, too, but chilly.
Scout for bagworm on susceptible hosts like arborvitae or juniper, maple or oak. The bags are silken bags disguised to look like browning needles or leaves. Remove and destroy egg-filled bags.
My birdfeeders have frequent visitors now. Every time the seed gets low and I bring the feeders inside to refill, I will wash the feeder perches. This helps protect the wild birds from disease that can persist on the feeder.
Even though the cold weather seems to be with us for the next week, stock up and plan to reapply deer repellents on the next mild day. The deer will take the earliest opportunity to munch on your ornamentals. Send them elsewhere with a new unpleasant smell.
Seek out winter sales on houseplants. A flowering plant or fresh green foliage will brighten your mood after the holiday decorations get packed away. Herbs and some winter houseplants can be planted out in the garden come spring, too!
To keep those houseplants growing well, keep them consistently moist and out of drafts from drying heating units. Tips of houseplant leaves that have turned brown and crispy indicate too much fertilizer or inconsistent watering. The plant is not able to flush the fertilizer salts or adequately replenish the moisture at leaf tips and reacts by letting the tips die. The tips will not “green up” again, but the leaf can still produce chlorophyll. Don’t remove the leaf unless the entire thing is brown.
Heat and drought can stress your plants as well as water temperature. Keep your watering can handy and full of water in preparation for the next watering. The water will be at room temperature when you want it. Room temperature water will be more easily absorbed by plants’ roots. The air inside your home is dry. Remember to add humidity trays around plants to help reduce moisture stress.
While the winds blow outside, check your stored flower bulbs like dahlia and gladiolus. The bulbs should be firm with no mold growing on them. Continue to keep cool and in a dark location.
And what more can you start with your January dream time?
Start oat or wheat grass indoors for your feline housemates—or yourself! Both germinate quickly. Oatgrass helps your cats, and wheat grass can be juiced for you to enjoy. I mentioned sprouting seeds recently, but you can also plant herb seeds indoors and have that fresh flavor all winter. To make it simple, use a seed sprouter and up-pot if you need to grow larger plants.
Start a wish list of plants by using online resources or seed catalogs. When I search for information online, I avoid “clickbait” by visiting reliable university agricultural extension or botanical garden websites that come up in my searches. These sites will have more factual information and less hype.
For native plants or local ecotypes, be clear about your goals in your search. For example, do you want a native plant specific to your county, your state, or the East Coast? A few good ones that I use are the UConn Plant Database, the Missouri Botanical Garden Database, and Ward’s Nursery’s plantfinder, similar to the Missouri site except Ward’s lists plants that are available or can be ordered at the store.
Lastly, try to remember how tired you were after caring for your tasty vegetables last year before you get swept up into the luscious images in those seed catalogs. Hint: Don’t shop for seed when you are hungry. Seed catalog text creates covetous behavior, and you should not buy what you cannot grow. Keep dreaming, but remember, I warned you.
I call myself the Lazy Berkshire Gardener because I don’t want to work too hard in my gardens. I want to enjoy them. I find it easier to observe my landscape and let the compost happen, the water pool up, or daisies to self-sow. I look for ways to do the minimum task for the biggest impact. For example, mulching is better than spraying and much better than weeding all season. I look for beautiful, low-maintenance plants that thrive in or at least tolerate my garden conditions. Plus, I am willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
