Luke Judge

some folks just can’t stay out of the garden, no matter the season. if it’s not too wet or freezing, there are several vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and perennials that can be planted or propagated now.

Or you can stay warm and start your seedlings indoors.

These recommendations come from Sacramento County UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners.

• The first day of winter (Tuesday) is the shortest day of the year, sunlight-wise. Traditionally, it’s a great time to plant garlic and onions for harvesting in summer.

• Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. Beware of soggy soil. It can rot bare-root plants.

• Vegetables from seed: Outdoors, plant fava beans, mustard and radishes. Indoors, start broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale and lettuce.

• Flowers from seed: Plant California and other poppies, cornflower, larkspur and scabiosa. Indoors, start aster, baby’s breath, calendula, coleus and forget-me-nots.

• Nurseries in January have a good selection of bare-root fruit trees and other stock such as grapes and berries. Trees planted in January will benefit from the deep watering of winter rain.

• Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.

• cut back and divide chrysanthemums.

• Plant bare-root roses. if the weather is wet and your ground seems saturated, consider planting your garden additions in large black plastic containers. The black plastic will warm up faster than the ground soil and give roots a healthy start. then transplant the new addition – root ball and all – into the ground in April as the weather warms. This works for bare-root shrubs, too.

• Enjoy sunny winter days by planting for bright spring color. Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.

• in the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranuculous and gladiolus for blooming from late spring into summer.

• Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. if you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can find them in full flower in January at local nurseries.

• Vegetables from seed: Outdoors, plant peas, radishes, lettuce and spinach. Indoors, start broccoli, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, cauliflower, collards and kale.

• Flowers from seed: Outdoors, plant baby’s breath, calendula, California poppies, cornflower, larkspur and snapdragons. Indoors, start aster, cleome, coleus, forget-me-nots, hollyhock, stock and verbena.

• in the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots. Transplant cabbage and its relatives broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

• Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions. Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March. • Annuals will show up in nurseries in February, but wait until the weather warms a bit before planting. instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

• Plant summer-flowering bulbs, including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

• Vegetables from seed: Outdoors, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

• Flowers from seed: Outdoors, transplant or direct-seed snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

• Seed and renovate the lawn. Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

• in the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, collards and kale.

• before the mercury starts inching upward, this is your last chance to plant such annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.

• Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. also plant dahlia tubers.

• Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted in March while the weather remains relatively cool.

• Vegetables from seed: Outdoors, plant beets, carrots, chard, celery, fennel, jicama, leaf lettuce, mustard, spinach, radish and turnip. Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant.

• Flowers from seed: Outdoors, plant aster, celosia, cleome, cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium, nicotiana and snapdragon. Indoors, start four o’clocks, marigold, scabiosa and sunflower.

What’s in season?

Expect to find these crops all winter, except where noted, at farmers markets. or, harvest them from your own garden: artichokes (December), beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, grapefruit, kale, leek, lemons, lettuce, mandarins (December and January), onions, oranges, persimmons (December), potatoes, radishes, spinach and turnips.

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Call The Bee’s Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075.

gladioli brussels sprouts, fruit trees, larkspur, plant garlic, root roses, seed plant

So what are bulbs really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about popular bulbs, info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Now that we’ve covered those aspects of popular bulbs, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Flowering bulbs are among the most popular of all ornamental plants, and they have enjoyed striking popularity for many years. Bulbs are renowned for their hardiness, color and variety, and there are enough types of bulbs to please even the most discriminating gardener.

With so many bulbs to choose from, it can be difficult to choose the right ones, so we present here a quick rundown of some of the most popular varieties of bulbs for the garden.

Crocus bulbs typically bloom in early spring or in late winter, and they feature tubular shaped flowers ranging in size from 1½” to 3? long. Crocuses come in a rainbow of colors, and they are a staple of many gardens. Other types of crocus, such as the saffron crocus, bloom instead in the fall, and the flowers can rise from the bare ground weeks, or even only days, after the bulbs are planted. It is important for crocus bulbs to be planted as soon as they become available in the fall. The best way to plant crocus bulbs is two to three inches deep, with a spacing of three or four inches between bulbs. Crocus bulbs should be planted in good quality soil with good drainage, and they should be provided with full sun or partial shade and watered regularly during their growing and blooming seasons.

Dahlias bloom from summer through fall, and they also come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. The size of dahlia flowers can range from two to twelve inches, and the height of the plants themselves can vary from just under a foot to more than seven feet for certain stake varieties. It is best to plant dahlias after the last frost of the spring, and the roots should be set between four and six inches deep. Tall dahlia varieties should be spaced four or five feet apart, while shorter ones can be spaced from one to one and a half feet apart.

Dahlias should have access to full sun, but in areas where the summers are very hot they may benefit from partial shade as well. It is important to observe a regular watering schedule during the bloom and growth cycles of the dahlia.

Dahlia bulbs can be left in the ground if the winter temperatures do not go below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but most gardeners prefer instead to dig the dahlia bulbs up at the end of each growing season. To do this, you should wait until the foliage has yellowed, then cut the stalks back to approximately four inches. The clumps of the roots should be permitted to dry in the sun a few hours, then placed in boxes in a single layer and covered up with either sawdust or dry sand. The bulbs should be stored in a cool dry place over the winter and replanted the following spring.

The galanthus is more commonly known as the snowdrop, and it is one of the first plants to bloom at the end of the winter. These plants are typically six to eight inches in height, and they feature one bell shaped flower on each side of the stalk. Snowdrops are best suited for colder climates, and the bulbs are best planted in the autumn of the year. The bulbs should be planted from three to four inches deep and about three inches apart. Snowdrops typically do best in full sun or partial shade, and they like regular watering during their blooming and growing cycles.

Those who only know one or two facts about popular bulbs can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you’re learning here.

gladioli flowering bulbs, old stuff, rainbow of colors, saffron, six inches