January:

• Good time to plant bare–root trees and plants if soil not frozen

 
• Good time to purchase winter flowering shrubs, Cornus mas (cornelian cherry), Mahonia bealei (leather–leaf Mahonia), Sasanqua camellias, Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet), witchhazel, and Sycopsis sinensis

 
• Western Oregon – gather branches of quince, forsythia, flowering cherries, bring in for early bloom

 
• Add to compost pile wind–down branches and pruned limbs (if not diseased), should be chopped, the smaller the better

 
• Inspect fruit in storage and remove those that are decayed

 
• Check stored bulbs, corms and tubers; bad spots on dahlia tubers can be cut out and dusted with sulfur, compost rest with any decay.

 
• Clean and sharpen tools

 
• Start all motor-powered equipment at least once a month(lubricates all parts)

 
• build Mason bee nesting blocks, 5/16th inch holes drilled into 4X4 or 2X4 will do, attend Home Orchard Society event for more details, bees may be purchased from HOS Arboretum Chapter

 
• In sunny cold areas, wrap or paint young tree trunks to prevent sunscald

 
• Check trees and shrubs for vole and field mice damage, remove plant growth from at least 18" from trunk, trap if required

 
• Got moss? Probably too much moisture, shade, soil compaction, and/or low fertility (see F 13 Organic Lawn Care)Moss and lichen on trees and shrubs is a sign of clean air  so  leave alone

 
• Make 4 season plan (spring, summer, fall and winter) for your garden

 
• Make a plan of your current plants in your garden and gradually plant to convert to an edible landscape

• Check spruce trees for small green, spruce aphids on last season’s needles, if you do not control now – too late when you see damage in spring

 
• Plant peas, sweet peas and potatoes in straw bed (pull away straw, drop seed on soil, cover with straw) prepared in September (see September)

 
• Fertilize perennial vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, rhubarb) with well–rotted manure

• Prune fruit trees if not too cold (below 45°F, cut out and dispose of any diseased wood, use spreaders on fruit tree branches as needed.

 
• Collect scions for grafting, label, and place in airtight plastic bag, keep in dark, moist, cold (33°F) space

 
• Look for mite eggs, aphid eggs, San Jose scale - dormant spray if not done in December

• spray cherry trees for bacterial canker; use copper fungicide and spreader/sticker

 
• Mid–January, second spray (copper [at least 50% or not effective] or sulfur plus spreader/sticker) for peach leaf curl on peaches and nectarines (same as December)

Have a great tip? Post it at the HOS forums!