January Lawn & Garden To-Do List

Most of us begin the New Year armed with plans, projects, and resolutions. The January garden provides a stark contrast as it hunkers down to wait out the winter, but there’s still plenty to do when the weather cooperates.

The month of January takes its name from Janus—the Roman god of Gateways and Journeys—who is often pictured looking both backward and forward at the same time. New Year’s resolutions spring from this tradition, and your January gardening can follow suit.

This is a great month for evaluating and planning, placing orders (January is National Mail-Order Gardening Month), preparing and getting organized. It’s also a good time to work on plants during dormancy, so they can begin their spring growing season with an advantage.

Here are some gardening chores to tackle during January.

• Inspect stakes and wires on newly planted trees, to make sure they are still straight and not damaging the bark.
• Stake leggy plants to protect from wind or ice breakage.
• Leave snow in place as an insulator – remove (gently!) only if the weight of the snow threatens to break the plant. Do not attempt to remove ice.
• Prune dormant trees and shrubs now, including fruit trees.
• Hold off on pruning spring-flowering shrubs until after they bloom.
• Inspect your winterized roses – make sure they are still firmly tied and/or covered.
• Apply anti-desiccants to newly planted evergreens.
• Bring spring-flowering branches indoors for forcing. Good choices are forsythia, pussy willow, jasmine, and flowering quince.

Perennials and Bulbs

• Protect evergreen perennials from freeze damage. Use boughs from your recycled Christmas greenery as an extra mulch layer.
• Check your stored tender bulbs every couple of weeks. Discard any rotten ones. If they look withered or dried out, mist the packing medium very lightly with water.
• Brighten up cold, gray days by bringing out your chilled bulbs for forcing indoors. Also plant bulbs that don’t require chilling, such as paperwhite narcissus.
• Sow seeds in indoor flats for spring planting.
• Clip faded blossoms from gift amaryllis.
• Take a tour of your garden to see if any of your plants have been uprooted by frost heaving. If so, add extra mulch.

Annuals and Containers

• Continue to protect tender container plants from freezing temperatures.
• Keep watering containers.
• Feed winter-blooming pansies with a bloom-boosting fertilizer.
• Start seeds indoors for summer annuals.

Lawns

• Remember not to walk or drive on frozen grass.
• Apply post-emergence weed control to actively growing broadleaf weeds.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Inspect stored fruits and vegetables (such as apples and potatoes) for decay. Throw away any that look spoiled, and increase air circulation to reduce further damage.
• If your winter vegetables are looking yellow, add some nitrogen fertilizer.
• Prune dormant fruit trees and grape vines.
• Continue applying dormant spray to fruit trees. Don’t spray during wind, rain, or freezing temperatures.
• Sow seeds indoors for spring vegetable planting.

Houseplants

• Keep houseplants out of drafts and in the brightest spot possible.
• Increase humidity around tropical plants.
• Reduce fertilization, but continue watering (may water less often, but the same amount). Make sure your water is room temperature.
• Address any insect and disease problems.
• Keep plants clean by gently wiping or rinsing.
• Give extra protection on chilly nights by closing drapes and making sure plants don’t touch cold glass.
• Give your holiday cactus a rest this month, by watering sparingly but keeping it in indirect light.
• Re-pot any indoor plants that are pot-bound.
• Cover or wrap new houseplants when transporting to keep them from freezing on the trip home.

Cleanup and Maintenance

• If the ground isn’t frozen, install French drains, bury downspouts and drainage pipes, and watch for drainage problems in the garden.
• Have your soil tested to determine if supplements are needed.
• Till workable soil and work in amendments. This gives you the added benefit of exposing buried insect eggs and larvae to hungry birds.
• Don’t forget to feed the birds!
• Clean, oil, and repair garden tools.
• Take in your lawn mower in for blade sharpening or repairs – the repair shops are much less busy this time of year.
• Inspect and repair leaky or water-damaged sheds, porches, and garden structures.
• Build fences and walkways, and install trellises and structures before the vines start growing.
• Add cooled fireplace ashes to your compost pile.
• Don’t use salt on frozen driveways and sidewalks – it can damage surrounding plants. Instead, use sand, organic kitty litter, or sawdust.
• Clean your stored containers using a little vinegar or bleach. Smash broken clay pots and store the shards to use as drainage in the spring.
• Garden catalogs start arriving this month. Sit by the fire and make your wish list.
• January is the prime month for planning! Read the gardening books you received as gifts, make landscape diagrams of your existing garden, and work out your design for the next growing season.

Source: dannylipford.com

Retreat in Style...to Your Outdoor Spa

Interested in creating a spa retreat in your backyard? No matter where you install your hot tub or spa, make sure it works as a getaway, not just a piece of outdoor patio furniture. Here are some tips from the National Spa & Pool Institute:

The Right Site:
Always consider accessibility. You’re more likely to use a spa — especially in cold weather — if it’s easily accessible from the house. Aesthetics are important too. Consider how the placement of the spa will affect the look of your landscape. No matter how well it’s landscaped, a spa set in the middle of the yard will seem exposed, especially to those using it. An in-ground spa is more appropriate for a small yard. It’s less imposing and won’t steal attention from the surrounding landscape. It also affords more privacy than an above ground model, especially when surrounded by a low wall.

A Good Foundation:
Whether you set up your spa on an existing patio or deck or want to conquer unexplored terrain, you’ll need a firm, level surface that supports a minimum of 90 pounds per square foot. The size of your spa will dictate the exact amount of space needed. Drainage is also important. Water needs to flow away from your house and any other structures, including your spa.

Landscaping:
Landscaping around your spa can complete the transformation of your backyard into a permanent retreat. Choosing the right plants is important. Be aware that the fragrance of some flowers can attract insects. Some plants that tolerate a water environment but don’t attract bugs are ornamental grasses, daylilies, coleus, and caladiums. Tall plants in particular give a mild sense of enclosure that won’t overpower. Examples include Russian sage, catmint, canna, Asiatic lily, ornamental grasses, roses, and dill.

Hardscaping:
When landscaping is not practical, structures such as gazebos, arbors, and built-in planter boxes can help create an inviting atmosphere. Potted plants, hanging baskets, and supplemental water features, such as fountains and waterfalls, can also make the atmosphere around a spa inviting.

Privacy:
Enclosing your spa with a decorative gazebo, covered porch, or sunroom is a great way to enhance the sense of a getaway, increase privacy, and block wind. The best enclosures have high ceilings (to prevent feelings of claustrophobia) and lots of windows (to bring the outdoors in). Another idea is to use tall evergreens, such as cypress or juniper, to block views toward the spa. Finally, you might simply set the spa where it’s hidden by a structure.

Source: outdoorlivingideas.com 

Pressure treated wood is wood that has undergone a process to make it more durable so that it is not susceptible to water, rot, termites, or fungus. Pressure treated wood is used for a variety of applications ranging from outdoor decking to utility poles, from railroad ties to playground equipment. Boat docks, aquarium stands and indoor pools are a few more examples.

Pressure treated wood conserves and extends a valuable renewable resource and it is economical.To make the wood so long lasting, it is first treated with chemical preservatives, then placed in a cylinder under pressure. The pressure forces the chemicals deep into the wood which then becomes a barrier against natural enemies like termites and decay.

The effectiveness of pressure treated wood has been born out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service in more than four decades of field testing. Because of its known efficacy, pressure treated wood is often guaranteed against termite infestation and decay for 40 years.

Trees and logs from which commercial wood is cut have a number of different layers. The two primary layers are called heartwood and sapwood. Heartwood provides most of the "structural" strength to the living tree while the sapwood transports the sap from the base of the tree up to the leaves.

Wood preservatives penetrate sapwood easier than heartwood. As a result, wood species such as Southern Pine, which have a high percentage of sapwood, are predominately used in pressure treating.

Reference: wisegeek.com