Master Gardener Column for the Week of January 12, 2009
Judy Koehly – BrunswickCounty Master Gardener
January in the Garden 2009
Winter is prime time for planting spring flowering bulbs. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and crocus bulbs will happily burst into bloom for you this spring. Be aware that tulip bulbs rarely bloom more than one time in this part of the country as they need a long winter chill to set flowers. When planting, work some fertilizer into the soil surrounding the bulbs rather than just throwing it into the hole. The developing roots will get a more even boost this way.
Pick a nice January day after a rain and go through your garden pulling out any unwanted seedlings. Look for pines, oaks, hollies, cherry laurels and privets that can pop up anywhere. Cut back ornamental grasses, liriope and any leftover perennial foliage by early February before new growth begins to appear. When it comes to winter pruning remember that if it flowers in the spring, don’t touch a thing! Allow your shrub to flower before you prune. When a killing freeze makes a surprise attack on your semi-tropicals, cut back all the damaged foliage as soon as possible so you won’t be left with slimy decomposing foliage.
Now is an excellent time to add any hardscape that you have been thinking about. You can study the bare bones of your garden and decide if a fountain, a sculpture or a path would be appropriate. You can also fill in bare areas with plants. Use sky pencil holly for a narrow space, winter jasmine or evergreen Daphne can add fragrance as well as color. You can plant bare root roses now; the warmer days of winter are fine to plant anything that is non-tropical. Be sure to put them on a regular watering schedule. You can also divide clumps of perennials that have been getting crowded.
A good use of winter time can be spent with a bulb catalog ordering summer flowering bulbs such as caladiums for shady spots and gloriosa and oriental lilies for sunny areas. If you have had trouble with aphids, scale or mites spray your ornamentals with dormant oil on a day that promised to stay above 40 degrees for 24-48 hours. You can tidy up your landscape by edging and reshaping borders where necessary.
Keep your birdfeeders full and change the water in the birdbath frequently. You want to attract birds to your yard so they can feast on insects that can damage your plants. If you want to participate in this year’s Christmas Bird Count call Juanita Roushdy at 454-8498 for Brunswick county and Sam Cooper at 799-3825 for NewHanoverCounty. To see a list of birds you might see go to
Wilmington’s bird count is scheduled for January 3 and the Southport/Bald Head Island count for January 4.
Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P. O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.
Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Master Gardener