TIMELY TIPS FOR GARDEN SUCCESS

A lot of homeowners tend to forget about their gardens in the winter. But this is possibly the most important time to take care of one's plants. By taking care of some simple tasks now, you will be able to keep your garden looking beautiful, and make it much more productive in spring. 

LAWN CARE:
Feed lawns with Master Nursery Easy Livin’ Fall & Winter Feed.  To prevent crabgrass in spring, feed your lawn with Master Nursery Crabgrass Preventer in January. It helps promote deep green color, encourages root development and helps prevent crabgrass and other lawn weeds. Remember to only water your lawn during periods of extended dry weather. Lower your mower height to 2 inches or less.

FRUIT TREES: 
Now is the time to spray for disease prevention for fruit trees. We recommend spraying Liqui-cop and Bonide All Seasons Oil.  Most fruit trees need to be sprayed more than once, and timing, along with dilution rates vary depending on weather and type of fruit tree. Feed deciduous fruit trees with a Master Nursery 0-10-10 Fertilizer in January for a larger abundance of blooms in spring.

ROSES:
Dormant prune your roses in January. Remove any leaves that may still be left on plants. After pruning, give your roses one "clean-up" spray combining Liqui-cop (for disease) with Bonide All Seasons Oil (for insect control).  Remember to spray soil all around and beneath roes to get complete kill of all fungus spores.  Seal any pruning cuts larger than a pencil size with Doc Farwell Seal & Heal.

FLOWERS & VEGETABLES:
Continue to feed flowers monthly with MaxSea Bloom Formula. For a larger harvest out of your garden, feed winter vegetables with Dr. Earth #5 Tomato and Vegetable Fertilizer. Protect flowers and vegetables from slugs, snails, earwigs and crawling insects with Sluggo Plus.
 
WATER PLANTS:
Divide and transplant water lilies and other dormant water plants into larger pots for the following season. Use Aquatic Plant Soil, not packaged potting soil whose organic ingredients can rot the plant roots. Use wider rather than deeper pots, because most water plants are shallow rooted and grow horizontally.

FROST PROTECTION:
Don’t prune frost tender plants such as Bougainvillea, Citrus, Ferns and Hibiscus until danger of frost has passed in spring. Cover plants with a frost blanket. The use of an anti-transpirant such as Cloud Cover or Wilt Proof will offer up to 5 degrees of extra frost protection.  Make sure the soil is moist when a frost is expected. Allow the plant to thaw naturally.