Indoor plants may satisfy your need for blooms during short winter days. Or you may still itch to get out in the garden and enjoy getting your hands dirty on the occasional warm sunny day. Either way some seasonal gardening suggestions apply indoors and outside.
Indoor plants
Group your houseplants together during the forced air heating season. They will benefit from one another’s transpired moisture. Keep them away from heat sources and protected from drafts.
Water gift and house plants with room temperature or tepid water. Don’t shock plants with cold water. Let plants dry out between watering; overwatering is the most common cause of house plant death. If you want to keep the festive foil wrap on gift plants, cut holes in the bottom so excess water can drain out.
Maintain a vigilant eye for insects on indoor plants. They are the same pests you struggle against outside – aphids, spider mites, scale, white flies and mealy bugs. Spray off your plants’ leaves in the sink or shower each time you water them. It may sound like a big job, but dealing with an insect infestation is a much bigger one. The bath will also give your plants much needed humidity and remove accumulated dust. Keep a bottle of insecticidal soap spray handy for unwanted guests.
Outside in the garden
Don’t walk on or dig in wet garden soil. Both actions compact the soil.
Don’t forget to water outside plants during a winter dry spell. Dry roots along with freezing temperatures can severely damage, even kill, a plant. Remember that plants under a roof overhang or the heavy cover of evergreens are sheltered from rain. They may need to be watered when other areas of your yard do not.
Be careful what you prune. Shrubs that bloom in the winter and spring have already set their buds. If you want to enjoy their flowers, don’t prune them until after they bloom. Don’t fertilize them either until after they bloom.
Know your hydrangeas and clematis. Do they bloom on new or old wood? If your plants bloom on old wood, don’t prune them until after they finish next year’s flowering.
Save heavy pruning on trees and shrubs for mid to late winter. Go to Clemson HGIC 1053 on the Internet for more detailed information about pruning.
In the event of heavy rain, replace mulch that has washed away. Mulch does more than hold moisture in the soil. It helps moderate soil temperature – a good thing in both hot sun and freezing cold. Keep tender roots mulched to protect them from injury.
Don’t apply ‘volcano’ mulching piled high around the base of your trees. Pull mulch away from tree trunks. ‘Volcano’ mulching harbors insects and disease. A two to three inch layer of mulch is all you need spread around the root zone.
If an evergreen or perennial is injured by frost, don’t prune off the damage. The dead ends will help protect the unaffected parts of the plant during the next frost or freeze.
Don’t leave debris from roses on the ground. Fungus from infected leaves and twigs lives in the soil waiting to infect your roses with black spot and mildew next year.
Remove dead plants and weeds from your vegetable garden. The debris shelters last year’s insect pests and diseases so they can revisit your garden next year.
Pull winter weeds out of your lawn before they bloom and go to seed. Their bright green growth is easy enough to spot in the brown grass.
Don’t use plastic to cover plants that are vulnerable in freezing temperatures. Use a fabric that breaths. Uncover plants during the day.
Don’t fertilize until spring.
If you need something to do in the garden, you can always top dress plants with compost. Also, collect a soil sample and have it tested so you can make appropriate corrections for next year’s growing season. Go to Clemson HGIC 1652 for soil test information and instructions.
Reach DEBBIE MENCHEK, a Clemson Master Gardener, at dmgha3@aol.com.
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