I know it’s winter and the garden is sleeping, but prepping in January and Feburary inspires prolific summer blooms.
Here are 10 tips for your winter to do list:
- Trim the roses back on President’s Day to thigh high. (Remember you trimmed them to thigh high last October on Columbus Day, allowing for 6″ of freeze.)
- Sharpen or replace your hand clippers. Dull clippers leave room for water rot on uneven branches. [I love these! They fit my hand and stay sharp.]
- Dip your clippers in bleach water between plants to avoid spreading diseases (5-gallon bucket, fill halfway, add 1 cup of bleach)
- Replace your leather garden gloves. The leather protects your hands from the toxin on the rose thorns. [These are my favorite!]
- Cut to 2″ all perennial grasses.
- Cut any old growth.
- Fruit trees and bushes–Cut back any growth the grows straight up. Trim branches you know can’t hold the weight of fruit.
- Throw a handful of Epsom salts at the base of perennials and fruit trees.
- Spread at the base of roses systemic granules to protect roses from mold, disease, and aphids. [I like this 3-1 care]
- Preen all the pathways and flowerbeds with established plants (newbie plants can’t take this weed reduction) Remember, Preen is a weed stunter, so it needs to be spread before they grow. Read the directions. I love this product because our flowerbeds are in the same area as our well water source and it’s non-toxic to water and pets. I spread it on a dry day (rare in the Pacific Northwest in the winter) and just before a rainy day (otherwise you can sprinkle water over it)
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