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RELEASE DATE:December 29, 2014
January Garden Checklist
By Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardeners
Compiled by Amanda Steves
January is often the Coastal Bend’s coldest month of the year, and there’s plenty for gardeners to plan and do. We love to design new gardens or rework our existing landscape plans. But there’s work to be done, too. And don’t forget those holiday plants—what the heck are we going to do with them now?
Deal with Winter –When a cold spell is predicted, water your plants ahead if there’s no rain in the forecast. You can cover plants with cloth, corrugated cardboard boxes or plastic trash cans overnight. Be sure to uncover them during the day when the temperature is above freezing to give them some warmth and light. If you end up with cold-damaged plants, water them lightly to warm up the roots and try not to prune off dead-looking branches until spring. Whenever you bring plants into the house, check carefully for snails, slugs, and insects—and don’t place plants near heating vents, a fireplace, or windows.
Plant a Tree – January is the right time to plant mature or established trees and shrubs that are dormant. This will give them time to develop their root systems in the new spot. Hold off on fertilizing until they start to grow and then only lightly. Select varieties that are adapted to the area since they are most likely to live long and remain healthy.
Plan &Journal – This is the perfect time to design new flower beds, landscaping, and vegetable gardens. Sketch them and plan out the spacing, size at maturity, and how many plants you’ll need. Be sure to consider their exposure to the elements as well as to hungry deer. Check your yard for plants that are declining due to age or disease and plan to replace them. The best way to keep track of your plans and actions is to use a garden journal. This can be a binder that holds your sketches and information on plants you’d like to try. But the most powerful function of a journal is the daily or weekly record of what you have planted, how it performed, when you fertilized and watered, etc. Some gardeners like to use a calendar with plenty of room to write on each day.
Holiday Plants – When your amaryllis is finished blooming, place it in a bright, sunny spot indoors. Afterthe last threat of frost has passed you can plant it outside in a shaded or partly shaded area. A Norfolk Island pine will be very happy as an indoor potted plant or outdoors in the ground in March after the threat of freezing weather is over. Plant it in full sun or part shade in a southern or protected part of your yard as it is a tropical plant and it can be damaged by a hard freeze. If you plant a poinsettia in a protected place in the yard, it will probably not have beautiful red foliage next winter. You can keep it as a potted plant indoors and if you follow a very strict light-restricting regimen, it may “bloom” for you again—easier to buy a new one next year or plant a native Texas poinsettia, Euphorbia cyathophora. Similarly, Christmas cactus requires careful temperature and water restricting in order to bloom, which is very tricky to accomplish. And it can’t tolerate cold temperatures so don’t transplant it outside.
Trees – If you find that you must prune a live oak, January is a safe month to do it. Although oak wilt has not arrived in our area, there’s always a chance that it can be accidentally brought in with firewood. So take precautions by pruning only in cold weather and by painting wounds that are over three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Don’t prune near electrical or utility wires—contact your utility for that. And do not “top” the tree. It is very detrimental to the health of the vast majority of trees. If you have trees that were planted last fall, water them deeply every couple of weeks if there’s no rain. It’s not time to fertilize them yet—that will be in the spring.
Vegetables – You can plant cool season veggie seeds in the ground this month, including broccoli, cabbage, and kohlrabi. You can also set out transplants of cauliflower, mustard, kale, lettuce, spinach, and Swiss chard. It’s time to plant beets, radishes, potatoes, turnips, parsley, and onion sets also. If you have a place indoors with enough light and heat, you can start seeds for warm weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and okra. They’ll need 8-12 weeks to get big enough to plant outdoors.
Lawn – This is not the time to fertilize or to use weed killers. If you have weeds, mow every 3-4 weeks. Low spots in the yard can be built up gradually by applying a half to one inch of compost. The grass blades should be sticking through so your turf doesn’t get smothered.
Roses – This month you can plant container-grown roses. Diseased leaves should be removed and disposed of—not in compostor on the ground.
Thanks to Master Gardeners Todd Cutting,Ellen Reisinger, and Beth Wilsonfor contributing to this list.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service - Aransas County Office is located at 892 Airport Road in Rockport. AgriLife Extension education programs serve people of all ages, regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, handicap or national origin.
References
“Garden Checklist for January/February, 2013”by Dr. William C. Welch, Professor & Landscape Horticulturist, Texas AgriLife Extension Service,
“Veggies to Plant and Other January Activities”by Joan Howie Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, January 2003,
“The Spring Garden”by Todd L. Cutting, Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, January 2010,
“The Beautiful Poinsettia” by Beth Wilson, Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, December 2014,
“Texas Poinsettias in Your Garden” by Ellen Reisinger, Aransas/ San Patricio County Master Gardener, November 2012,
“Cold Injury to Plants” by Virginia Easton Smith, County Extension Agent, Agriculture, January 2010,
“January Garden Tips” by Kitty Angell, Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, January 2014,
“January Garden Checklist 2013” by Kitty Angell Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, January 2013,
“January Garden Checklist” by Kitty Angell, Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, January 2012,
“December Gardening Checklist” by Kitty Angell, Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener, December 2012,
“It’s January: Time to Plant Some Amaryllis” by Elayne Arne, Aransas/ San Patricio County Master Gardener, December 2007,
“A Norfolk Pine is a Beautiful Christmas Tree” by Ginger Easton Smith, Aransas County Extension Agent,December 2010,
“Thanksgiving & Christmas Cacti” Nancy Doubrava, Home & Garden Information Center Horticulture Specialist, Clemson Cooperative Extension, November 2011,
52 Weeks of Gardening by Tom Harris, San Antonio, 2007