When you can’t count on snow to brighten the flowerbeds or outline your shrubs, then trees and shrubs with exfoliating bark can provide winter interest. The outermost thin bark layer on these plants will peel away revealing a lighter tan or redder color underneath giving the plant a mottled appearance. In the case of birch, the bark may start to pull away but the inner layer matures to a lighter white, creating unique textures. I have paper birch (Betula papyrifera), oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), and cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) that all have exfoliating bark to some degree. River birch (Betula nigra), sycamores (Platanus occidentalis), and paperbark maple (Acer griseum) are known for their exfoliation, too. Do some research about what might be a nice addition to your landscape.
While your plants rest outdoors in winter, you can review successes and learning opportunities from last year. Were weeds the most successful plants? Do you have notes on what you did or didn’t do to control them? I edged early and cleared areas where weeds thrived with more frequency all summer. Thicker mulch helped keep weed seeds out and made successful weeds easier to pull. Getting into the gardens during mild winter days and pulling perennial weed seedlings reduced the pressure of weeding later.
Once the soil freezes hard again, apply mulch if you haven’t since fall. This also prevents young perennials from heaving out of the ground.
Also create a list of insect pest problems encountered in 2024. After three years of damage, I finally identified the larvae of rose sawfly slugs on my perennial Hibiscus moscheutos. They were more persistent and damaging than my first suspect, Japanese beetles. I will anticipate and put a note in my calendar to inspect and spray as soon as the hibiscus emerges from the flower bed in late spring.
Research alternative plants less susceptible to recurring pests. It may be tricky to find something that Japanese beetles don’t devour, but do some research. Some plants seem less troubled by the pest. Also consider different varieties or selections of the same genus. Rosa rugosa will get beetle damage, but the shrubs will keep producing unlike some special rose cultivars that bloom beautifully for a couple weeks, unfortunately at the height of beetle infestation.
Our brief warm-up again last week will soon be a distant memory. However, the winter temperatures in Berkshire county seem to be swinging wider every year. Although the strawberry plants were bright green, I won’t uncover the plants in January. The sun is still low in the sky. Because I too want to rest from gardening tasks in January and February, I limit my outdoor gardening to inspection for pests or regular composting when I head outside to walk. I can still add to my compost, especially when the path is clear of snow.
A successful decomposition process in a compost pile requires water and heat. By adding kitchen scraps to the center of a pile and stirring regularly through the winter, you add moisture and oxygen which combine to generate the microbe activity you need and the heat. If you aren’t adding moist kitchen scraps to your compost pile, the pile will just sit until temperatures rise. That is fine too. But don’t waste your kitchen scraps. Chop them up and freeze them in your freezer when you can’t make it to your pile.
When inspecting the landscape, I am looking for egg masses in webbed bag structures along branches of apple or cherry and other susceptible plants. These would be tent caterpillars that spin more tent-like webs along branches in order to safely feed on the branch’s new leaves in spring. I also look for egg mass patches of either spongy moth or spotted lanternfly seemingly “painted” onto tree trunks. If found, I scrape the full mass into soapy water to destroy it before it hatches.
I looked for signs of cottony masses at the base of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) needles and happily found none. White tufts along the twigs are signs of an aphid-type pest called hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA). If found, contact an arborist about the best treatment. Usually, infested branches should be removed and destroyed. Discourage birds from nesting in an infected tree by moving feeders or houses to other locations. Birds can spread the pest to other trees.
From the UMass extension website:
Trees that are more susceptible to HWA are hemlocks growing in stressful sites (compacted soils, ledgy soils, poor drainage, drought prone, etc. They are much more apt to succumb to HWA infestation within 3-5 years. Hemlocks in more natural (healthier) settings, such as the forest, have been shown to withstand infestations longer, some persisting (yet unhealthy) for decades.
As always, choose the best plant for your soil and setting to make gardening easier on you and the environment!
A few more quick tips you can do in the first weeks of January:
Test leftover seed for viability by wrapping 10 of the seeds in a damp paper towel and place in plastic bag on a windowsill. Count how many seeds sprout within a week. If only five sprout, your seed has a 50 percent germination rate. You can decide to use these seeds this year (and double plant) or add that seed to your seed order for 2025. And you don’t need to wait long. Seeds for 2025 are available now online and at local garden centers.
Reapply deer repellents on susceptible shrubs and young trees on the next mild day (temperatures in the 40s). Change repellents every four to six weeks to disrupt the habits of local deer and rabbit pests.
Use room temperature water on houseplants. To have a good supply of water, save old well-rinsed laundry detergent (not bleach) bottles for refilling your watering can. Fill your watering can and maybe the larger jugs if you have a large indoor plant collection. Let the water sit for about a half hour while you complete your usual morning tasks—shower, eat, read the news, make coffee, etc. Then, start your watering rounds. Refill the watering can with your extra water supply that has also come to room temperature. You will have plenty of water at room temperature ready for distribution.
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.
