WINTER
Nevada State Contractor's CID License # 73395
WINTER
Winter (Jan, Feb, Mar)
During the winter season a lot more goes on with regards to our landscape than just watering and feeding, it is the time of year that we all want to “DECORATE,” whether it is with Halloween décor, Thanksgiving ornaments or Christmas lighting.
I remember one Halloween when I had all the spooky, scary ghosts and goblins in the front yard thinking that the kids would follow the sidewalk to the front door. Well, the first group started to race to the door and one youngster cut right through the lawn area, tripped on one electrical cord and about half of all the decorations I put up came tumbling down. Thank goodness no one was hurt, but you get the idea.
Put all the cords that power these items along a wall or fence. The most important thing is that for electrical cords used outside, they MUST be outdoor cords,rated for the usage, and also weather proof and water proof. Make sure all the power outlets are off the ground just in case a valve or water pipe breaks and there is water on the ground.
These things might sound kind of silly, but you would be surprised at how many people think, “Oh it will only be here for a short time, so I can get by with this kitchen extension cord.” BIG mistake.
When lighting trees for Christmas, meaning the live trees outside, also make sure that the connections are off the ground. We don’t want water coming into contact with an electrical source: we all know what will happen. One last thing to inspect before we plug all this into an outlet is to make sure the timers and plugs are in good condition, with no exposed or frayed wires.
Have a fun, happy and SAFE holiday season.
FEBRUARY TO DO LIST
TRIM ROSES
One of the best ways to trim a rose bush is to get a sharp pair of shears in your hand and think of someone you really don't like and go to work on your roses.
The best time to do this is about the second week of Feb.
Actually, the rule of thumb here is to cut off about one third to one half of the bush, as this does two things:
It keeps the trunk of the bush from growing to large
It will force the bush to produce more blooms during the growing season and keep the trunk and stems to a manageable size.
Now if you want a wall of roses, don’t trim the top, but go after the bottom branches, do not trim all the way to the trunk, but thin and cut some of the foliage back almost to the trunk. This process will make the bush grow taller and wider, although it may not produce a lot of blooms the first or second season.
FEEDING ROSES AND FLOWERING PLANTS.
This is also a good time of year to put down a good systemic insecticide to insure that the “BAD” bugs do not invade the flowers in the spring when they are trying to bloom. In the next couple of months the insecticide and flower food should be put down maybe a couple times.
Remember that systemic means that the plant has to soak up the insecticide or plant food through the root system, so whatever it is that is being put on the plants will take some time to be taken up by the plant, so from Feb on through May you should be putting down the insecticide and plant food so that in the spring when everything is trying to bloom, all the maintenance is already taken care of and the bugs will not have a chance to invade.
LET’S GET READY TO PRUNE!
That’s right, folks, its time to get out the pruners, loppers, bow saws and all our good pruning equipment. Before we get carried away with the sharp instruments, let’s take a step back and make sure everything is ready.
The first thing we should do is to make a mental note as to what we want our landscaping to do for us this year. Do we want it to just look good, healthy, and vibrant, or do we want it to produce for us, and how do we want it to function for us? All these questions should be answered before we start anything. And now, you ask, we can cut? No, not just yet. First let’s answer the questions above.
After you've answer the questions, preferably on paper, then it will be time to get to the pruning. Let’s start with the trees. They will start to bud out very soon as the weather is warming up. That means the trees will be sucking up large amounts of water and nutrients, so step one is to put down a good systemic insecticide as a good preventative measure on all trees that are not infested with bugs. Yes, that means the young trees, too.
If the trees will produce consumables (something you eat), then there is a certain way to treat them. If there are no consumables on the tree the treatment is different.
Let's talk first about the trees that produce consumables. As always, “CHECK THE LABEL,” or in the words of my father, when all else fails, read the directions. There are several topical applications for fruit and nut trees that have a good insecticide in them: Dipel Dust, Thuricide Concentrate and others. All of these can be used up to the day before harvest with no ill effect on the food that will be harvested.
Trees that do not produce consumables can be treated easily with Pointer System or Plugs. It is like giving the tree a direct shot in the bloodstream of the tree and is very effective. This type of treatment will last at least 3 years. The only downside to using the plugs or Pointer System is that it is rather expensive. There are other options available, but it takes time to find them and understand how they all work, but please beware, not all products are the same, and that is why it is so important to “READ THE LABEL.”
Now that the winter is almost over, it is time to start looking at the landscape. Let's start with the biggest plants, the trees. First, make sure that the canopy is thinned out and that the wind can blow through the tree easily. That is what thinning does. It is not a full-blown cut, just removing and cleaning out the inner branches and twigs.
Next check the irrigation. Make sure that the water delivery device is at the edge of the canopy, not next to the trunk of the tree, and make sure the deep root watering sticks are in place. This is also a great time to check the rest of the tree for damage from the winter, bugs, cuts, wire ties from tree stakes, and the general appearance of the tree. Take a good look at all these and make any adjustments that are needed.
Now check the ground around the base of the tree, pulling weeds, plants or other trees that might be trying to get started there.
Rules of thumb for pruning trees:
1. If the limb is growing towards the center of the tree, cut it out
2. If the limb is growing towards the ground, cut it out
3. If the limb is crossing another limb cut the bottom limb out
Now that the trees are done, let's move to pruning the shrubs and lower plants. Starting with the shrubs, we have to make a choice. First, determine what you want the shrub to look like. Once that is decided, begin trimming them into the desired shape or simply clean them up by pruning stragglers.
This may sound like shaping, but it is not really. Shaping is cutting the shrub into a ball or box or cone or some other very specific shape. Cutting the stragglers is just fine for a shrub.
Following these simple rules can save so much time and trouble in the future. And just as mentioned before, if the wind cannot get through the canopy, the tree will turn into a sail instead of a tree, catching every breeze and eventually being uprooted.