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There are still gardening chores to do in winter
February 08, 2019
By Maria Sobczak - Victoria County Master Gardener
Edited by Charla Borchers Leon
PHOTO BY MARIA SOBCZAK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Branches growing in atypical form should be pruned to obtain healthier trees. Notice here the limbs/branches of this crepe myrtle tree that are growing across and into others, touching one another and in the same space and direction of another. They should be pruned out, leaving the stronger of the limbs in place.
PHOTO BY MARIA SOBCZAK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Perennials should be pruned in the next several weeks after the last frost. Notice the dead shoots and branches of the 'Indigo Spires' Salvia in these pots that will need to be trimmed back to within 6 inches of the ground to provide energy for new, vigorous plants to have healthy, spring growth.
PHOTO BY MARIA SOBCZAK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Water sprouts (growing straight up off limbs) shown here and suckers (sprouting from the trunk base) need to be pruned and maintained on live oak trees to allow energy for growth on limbs rather than on this less significant, new stem-like growth.
Modern Hybrids
Hybrid Tea
Floribunda
Grandiflora
Climbers
Note: Don’t need to be trimmed back; just cut dead canes/wood.
Old-Fashioned
Note: Don’t need trimming back as much as hybrids; just light snipping.
Prune/Remove (with plan of general to specific)
PHOTO BY MARIA SOBCZAK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Professional tree trimmers/arborists should be considered for large pruning projects like these trees. One should take care in attempting pruning without proper knowledge and equipment to correctly and safely trim shrubs and trees.
When does winter begin? When the temperature drops below 60 degrees? Maybe when you can put away the lawnmower because you have stopped cutting the lawn? Perhaps you might say Dec. 21, the day that marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. However, from then on, the daylight hours will increase and night-time darkness will decrease.
Get ready to get dirty
Is winter just a time to kick back, look at gardening catalogs and home improvement magazines, dream of or plan new landscaping designs or wonder what to plant in your flower and vegetable gardens? All of those ideas are good, but in South Texas, nature doesn’t always give us that much of an actual break from our gardens, lawns and landscapes.
To gardeners, that day suggests that spring is just around the corner. Get ready to get dirty.
Suggestions for January through February
To help you get motivated, I have taken tips from Dr. Doug Welch’s Texas Garden Almanac to inspire your green thumbs to get busy.
In it are many helpful and knowledgeable gardening ideas for each month of the year, touching on such topics as soil, lawns, trees, plants and plant care, to name just a few. I will concentrate on a few of his suggestions from the months of January and February.
If you were lucky enough to receive Christmas gifts of pruning equipment this year, then you are set to begin. Those of us who hold onto tools over the years will do well to inspect them, clean up and sharpen those that still have life in them and dispose of the ones who have given their all.
Check lawn mower and trimmer engines to see if a tune-up is needed. If so, take them to a small engine repair shop ASAP to avoid long wait times in the spring.
If you have a sprinkler or irrigation system, check out the system for any leaking or broken sprinkler heads. Fix any problems before your watering needs aren’t being met effectively and efficiently.
Fertilizers should be applied with properly maintained equipment, whether using a walk behind or hand whirligig spreader. Check it.
Don’t forget to get yourself some new gardening gloves – several different pairs to match the different types of tasks ahead.
Shrubs, trees
Transplant shrubs and trees during the dormant season to significantly increase survival chances.
Best time to prune
The best time to prune is in winter just before spring growth begins. Have a pruning plan from general to specific.
Pruning trees
Pruning perennial flowers
Roses
Winter does not actually end until the first day of spring in mid-March. In South Texas, watch for signs of early spring arrival to really get busy and dirty in the garden.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
WHEN: Noon-1 p.m. Monday
WHERE: Dr. Pattie Dodson Health Center, 2805 North Navarro St.
COST: Free
ABOUT: “What’s This? Volume IV” presented by Victoria County Extension Agent Matt Bochat. Bring your own lunch and drink.
ph: 361-935-1556
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