Winter Garden Checklist: Clean, Prune & Plant!

Want to get the best possible jump on your spring garden? Take advantages of the warm sunny days we often experience in January to get your garden tidy and spring ready!

General Garden Clean-Up checklist:

Cut back perennials.

Removed any spent blooms and foliage from last season.

Cut back ornamental grasses.

Most grasses will start putting out new foliage in February, so be sure to cut back by the end of January. A new selection of grasses arrives late spring!

Remove spent annuals and veggies and add to the compost pile.

Don’t forget to clean up winter container gardens as well.

• Rake leaves and add to the compost pile or mow over and mulch them into your lawn.

Prune & Plant Checklist:

Start indoor seeds

Start seeds indoors of edibles such as tomatoes, peppers, herbs and more. View our comprehensive list of planting dates here.

Prune large trees

For large tree specimens such as Live Oak trees, call your certified arborist for proper tree pruning.  Have your trees inspected by your arborist as they leaf out to look for residual ice storm damage.

Prune Crape myrtles

Prune Crape myrtles now through mid-February for shape, and remove suckers. Only remove dead branches and old seedpods. Do not “top” your crape myrtles! (Also known as “crape murder”.)

Prune Roses

Roses should be pruned by or just before Valentine’s Day. Check out our Rose List here!

Transplant

Winter is a great time to transplant while many trees and shrubs are dormant.

Plant and prune fruit trees

A great selection of fruit trees is in stock every winter in preparation for spring! Most fruit trees benefit from being pruned in late winter; just after the coldest temperatures have passed and right before flower buds break.

You’ll need a high quality pair of hand pruners such as Felco brand. Check with one of our garden advisors for tips on how best to prune your fruit trees.