Seasonal Gardening Tips

Seasonal Gardening Tips for the Northwest

December

Our temperate climate and generally mild winter allows us to plant practically year-round (we’re so lucky)! It’s still a good time to plant deciduous trees and shrubs. Don’t miss out on our great selection of plants with winter interest or early spring flowering shrubs.
Protect new plantings as necessary. Frost cloth or row covers are easy to use and offer tender plantings a degree of winter protection. Wind can also be a damaging force; use stakes to tie-up plants, provide windbreaks and/or apply a product like Wilt-Stop to help retain moisture during extreme weather.
Make sure that plants in sheltered or protected sites receive adequate water. Especially vulnerable are container plants, green house/cold frame plants and areas under deep eaves. Be sure new plantings and evergreens are well-watered before cold weather arrives.
During heavy rains, watch for drainage problems. Berms, swales and French drains are all possible solutions. Consider a rain garden or bioswale as a sustainable, long-term solution. Call our landscape department to arrange for services at 503.777.7777.
Turn compost piles and cover to protect from heavy rains.
Buy a poinsettia or Christmas cactus for some festive indoor color. We’ve got a great selection and can give you our best tips for success at home!

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to grow more of your own food, clean up that ugly corner of the yard or finally create the private back-yard of your dreams? Now is the time to get a plan for your project. Our garden centers offer a Free Landscape Design program called Planscaper. Imagine planting your yard with the confidence that you’re doing it right and the knowledge and assurance that your plant purchases are backed up by the best guarantee in town! Call any of our locations and ask about Planscaper.
Water landscape plants underneath wide eaves and in other sites shielded from rain. Reapply and or redistribute mulches that have blown or washed away during winter. Black Forest compost is our favorite mulch.
Use dormant sprays of oil or copper fungicide on fruit trees and roses for general preventative disease and insect control. Come ask one of our garden center professionals for a recommendation. Follow-up with a 2nd application in about 4 to 6 weeks.
Monitor houseplants for correct water and fertilizer; clean dust off leaves. Allow plants to dry-out between watering and generally reduce water for winter. Over watering damage may be corrected with Oxygen Plus.
Treat yourself to an early spring! Gather branches of quince, forsythia, flowering cherry, pussy willow, etc… Bring indoors and place in a vase of water to force an early bloom.

Bring some color into your garden with primroses, pansies and potted spring bulbs. And don't forget some early and very fragrant blooming shrubs like daphne, sarcococca and evergreen clematis - all available at our garden centers now.
Bare root plants roll in this month, and it's a great way to start the year. Roses, berries, grapes, fruit trees, asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries will all be in this month!
Once moss starts actively growing in your lawn, treat it early before it starts crowding out the grass. We've got everything you need for early lawn care.
There's still time to dormant spray roses, fruit trees and other deciduous plants this month. Dormant sprays are natural products that will help prevent insect and disease problems later in the season.
Times are a bit tough, and if you're planning on doing your own landscaping, we have a unique program that will ensure you do it right. It's free with the purchase of the plants you will need to do your yard. Call or visit any of our stores and ask about Planscaper®.
There are all sorts of good reasons to plant your own victory garden this year - it's healthy, you can save money, and oh, the taste of fresh vegetables from your garden. Start planning now, and come in and choose seeds while the selection is at its best.
Put off pruning roses until the end of the month - and remember February weather can be dicey, so don't put out tender plants quite yet!