1. Purchase and plant bare-root roses, trees, vines, berries and vegetables.
2. Prune fruit trees. Cut out any dead or diseased branches.
3. Dormant spray deciduous fruit trees. First, using a high pressure nozzle wash off trees with water. Then spray trees with a combination of Lime Sulfur & Pest Fighter Horticultural Oil.
4. Choose and plant camellias and azaleas.
5. Purchase and plant cool-season flowers to fill in bare spots.
6. Plant seeds of warm-season flowers for transplants to put out in spring.
7. Continue to plant winter vegetables from transplants and seeds.
8. Many succulents, including cacti, bloom in winter and spring; purchase new types now.
9. Prune roses.
10. Deadhead azaleas.
11. Mow cool-season lawns. Most warm-season lawns are dormant now and don't need mowing.
12. Begin to feed citrus trees in coastal zones.
13. Treat citrus trees for chlorosis.
14. Continue to fertilize cymbidiums that have not yet bloomed with Gro-More 30-10-10 (red)
15. Feed cool-season flowers.
16. Feed cineraria.
17. Fertilize cool-season lawns with Dr. Earth Super Natural Lawn Food.
18. Water plants according to need (when the rains are not adequate enough).
19. Irrigate citrus trees.
20. Remember to water plants under eaves where the rains cannot reach.
21. Check citrus trees for pests.
22. Pick up dead camellia blossoms to prevent petal blight.
23. Protect cymbidiums from slugs and snails.
24. Control rust on cool-season lawns.
25. Check trees, shrubs, and ice plant in coastal zones for overwintering whiteflies. Control by spraying.
26. Pull weeds.
27. Protect tender plants from frost.
28. Stake cymbidium bloom spikes.
29. Near the end of the month check bamboo in coastal zones to see if it is time to propagate.

by Tamara Galbraith

So, it's the middle of winter and temperatures have risen to a balmy level. As a gardener, you're itching to get out and work in the yard. But what's to do this time of year?

Turn to your trees and shrubs - they could probably use some attention while they rest comfortably in winter dormancy. Here are some winter pruning pointers:

Non-flowering hardwood trees and shrubs should be pruned at this time of year to improve the plant's structure. Making cuts in the dormant season also reduces the chance of transmitting disease, discourages excessive sap flow and avoids the problem of possible pest infestation. Conifers can be trimmed any time, but are best pruned during the dormant season, as sap and resin flow are minimized from the cut branches.

Flowering trees and shrubs, with a few exceptions, should also be pruned during the dormant season for the same reasons stated above. However, do NOT yet prune trees and shrubs that flower in early spring — you'll be cutting off the buds that will open in a few months. Spring-flowering trees and shrubs should instead be pruned immediately after flowering. A good rule of thumb is that you should prune in the season opposite of flowering, i.e. flower in spring = prune in fall, and flower in summer = prune in winter.

Ornamental grasses that die during the winter should be given a 'flat-top haircut' about 3"-4" above ground at the end of winter, before new growth starts to emerge. Evergreen grasses should be left alone.

Of course, dead branches and canes can be removed any time of the year, especially those obviously suffering from insect and/or disease damage. If you suspect disease, be sure to disinfect your pruning tools with a germ-killing spray like Lysol before and after cutting plants. Do not put diseased or insect-infested cuttings in your compost pile.