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PLANT

• Pot amaryllis, paperwhites and hyacinth bulbs for indoor blooming.

• Continue to set out cool-season bedding plants, such as pansies, violas, stock, snapdragons, and dianthus.

• Prepare beds and individual holes for rose planting in January and February. Use composted manure, pine bark, and similar materials mixed with existing soil.

• Plant or transplant trees, shrubs and vines.

• Continue to plant spring flowering bulbs until the ground is frozen. It might be too late for daffodils, but it should be okay for tulips and hyacinths.

• Green onions, leeks, mustard greens and turnips in the vegetable garden.

• Want to start cuttings of your favorite Christmas cactus? As soon as it has finished blooming, select a cutting with 4 or 5 joints, break or cut it off, and insert the basal end into a pot of moderately moist soil. Place it on a windowsill or other brightly lit area. The cuttings should be rooted within 3 to 4 weeks.

FERTILIZE

• Lightly feed pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale between bouts of cold weather.

• Reduce the fertilization of indoor plants.

• Store any leftover lawn fertilizers in a dry location and out of reach of children and pets.

PRUNE

• Don’t get in a hurry to prune woody plants. Late December through February is usually the best time to prune them.

• Cut off tops of spent perennials (unless seedheads offer food for birds.

• Gather and shred all dead leaves and vegetable material for the compost pile.

• Start dormant pruning of established fruit trees late this month.

• Cut tall hybrid tea roses back to 18 to 24 inches to reduce wind whipping and plant damage.

• Prune damaged branches throughout the winter months.

• Berrying plants, such as holly and yaupon, may be pruned now while they can be enjoyed as cut material inside the house. Use good pruning practices to avoid distorting your plants.

WATER

• Protect your lawn from excessive winter damage by providing irrigation during dry periods.

• Continue to water trees and shrubs, especially newly planted trees and all evergreens.

• Cool-season annuals after fertilizing.

• If a freeze is forecast, well-watered roots are less susceptible to freeze damage.

• Keep poinsettias well-watered and away from direct sun and heat sources, such as fireplaces or radiators. They'll droop and won't recover well.

• Daily check the water level of your live indoor Christmas tree.

• Drain and store garden hoses and watering equipment in a readily accessible location. The lawn and plants may need water during a prolonged dry spell.

PEST CONTROL

• Continue to monitor for rodent or animal damage if this has been a problem in the past. Problems to look for include rubbings on tree trunks from deer bucks and gnawed or stripped bark from lower trunk areas due to rabbits and mice.

• Monitor houseplants for insect problems. New houseplants or gift plants can also harbor pests. Isolate these plants before adding them to your collection. Early intervention brings greater success.

• Spray houseplants to control scale, mealy bugs, spider mites, and other insects.

• Mow grass for the last time and cut the grass quite short. This helps prevent winter injury and reduces mold fungus. Don’t mow if grass has gone dormant.

• Use dormant oil if temperature gets below 75 degrees F on scale insects on shade and fruit trees.

• Apply dormant oil early to roses before new growth emerges to prevent overwintering insect and spider mite eggs.

• Cut mistletoe out of trees. Remove infested limbs if possible.

• Check trees for the spindle-shaped bags of bagworms.

• In flowerbeds, handpull any young winter annual weeds, such as wild garlic, chickweed, Poa annua, and dandelion, or cover with a shallow layer of compost.

• Store pesticides in a cool (not freezing) dry location for winter, out of reach of children and pets.

ODD JOBS

• Be sure and register for the Master Gardener Class that will start near you in 2007!

• Plan to rotate the crops in the vegetable garden next year.

• Store leftover seeds and a cool, dry location, for example, in a sealed jar placed in the refrigerator.

• Check vegetables in storage for spoilage.

• Check your yard, garage or tool shed for garden products and equipment that should be stored indoors for the winter.

• Clean, sharpen, sterilize and oil garden hand tools for winter.

• Drain gasoline from power tools and run the engine until fuel in the carburetor is used up.

• Mulch roses by mounding soil 6 to 8 inches deep over the plants to protect the graft.

• Mulch strawberries with straw, leaves, or evergreen boughs. Mulch needs to be 6" deep after it has packed down.

• Mulch perennial beds with 2 to 4 inches of straw, shredded leaves, or other lightweight material.

• Mulch roots of tender shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons to keep vigorous during winter.

• Ventilate cold frames in mild weather.

• Move plastic and clay planters indoors for the winter to prevent them from cracking.

• Turn compost pile to encourage winter breakdown.

• If you have gardening friends on your gift list this year, consider surprising them with a 'green thumb' type of gift. Garden items make unusual, welcome, and unique gifts and the selections are vast. There is something for nearly everyone in any price range.

• A moderate amount of leaves on a lawn can provide a natural mulch, but if large amounts are left to soak up winter rains, they will smother the grass beneath them.

• If possible, maintain a supply of water for birds over winter. Small heating coils can be used in stone birdbaths to prevent water from freezing.

• Clean and refill bird feeders.

• Either remove decorative foil from bottom of gift plant pots or punch holes in the foil to allow water to drain properly.

• Take advantage of good weather to prepare garden beds for spring planting. Work in any needed organic matter, and have beds ready to plant when needed.

• If you have everything under control, tidy, and put away, you can really settle down and enjoy planning for next season’s garden. Settle down with a cup of hot chocolate and ponder the last growing season. If you spend a little time thinking about it, you can generate a whole new list of "to do" projects for next spring.