December Garden Calendar
Protect
- Protect moveable plants from sudden changes in temperature
by bringing them indoors.
- Protect tender plants by placing layers of mulch, or
pine straw, to a depth of 6-8 inches.
- Water plants well if there is warning before a frost.
Otherwise water as the plants begin to thaw.
Plant
- Toward the end of the month plant Tulips and Hyacinth
that have been in the fridge for 6 weeks.
- This is a good time to move Japanese Magnolias.
- Plant many types of bare root trees: fruit, nut or citrus.
- Plant dormant shrubs: Azalea, Camellia, Nandina, Wax
Ligustrium, Indian Hawthorne, Pyracantha, Mock orange, Hydrangea, Flowering
Quince, and Spirea.
- Herbs for a sunny window: Tarragon, Chives, Oregano,
Marjoram, and Rosemary.
Prune
- Prune fruit trees and shade trees to remove damaged
wood.
- Cut off tops of brown perennials, leave roots in the
soil.
- Do not prune spring flowering shrubs.
- Ferns will come back from the ground, cut back brown
fronds.
- Cut Mistletoe out of trees.
Indoor Plants
- House plants to consider: African Violets, Amaryllis,
Begonia, Bromeliads, Christmas Cacti, Dieffenbachia, Ferns, Philodendron,
Schefflera, and Weeping Fig.
- Feed houseplants twice during the winter months.
Miscellaneous
- To maintain a live Christmas tree in good condition,
mix in a 2 liter bottle: 8 oz non-diet soda, 2 oz vinegar, 1 oz mouthwash.
Fill the bottle with water. Keep base of tree in this solution. After
Christmas have your tree turned into mulch. Some Christmas decorations
are poisonous to people and pets: Keep Boxwood, Holly, Mistletoe, and
Jerusalem Cherry high up and out of reach.
In Bloom
- Sweet Pea, Sasanquas, Poinsettia, Camellia, Osmanthus,
Narcissus, and Amaryllis
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