January 2003 #2

This year’s prolonged cold spells have most gardeners staying inside with only the houseplants to fuss over. It’s the perfect time to sit back and relax with the new seed and garden catalogs. Pictures of colorful flowers and vegetables, all without blemish, are an inspiration for the garden season ahead.
January is the time to make a garden plan and determine what seeds and plants will be added to the garden. Try to purchase seeds and seed starting supplies this month in order to get the best selection. The newest varieties often sell out early. If you save seeds from year to year, check them now for viability. Place several seeds on a damp paper towel and keep them in a plastic bag. After a few days, check to see if they have germinated. Most varieties will sprout in a couple of days. If the germination rate is less than 75% it’s time to order fresh seed.
Seeds of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, pansy, dusty miller, begonia and snapdragon can be started late in the month of January. Plant them in clean containers using a moistened soil-less seed starting mix. Be sure to sterilize used containers with a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach. Set the containers in warm place (around 70 degrees) out of direct light until the seeds sprout. The top of the refrigerator works well. For varieties that require a warmer temperature (75-80 degrees) to germinate, place the containers on a seedling heat mat.
 After the seeds have sprouted move them to a cool location (60-65 degrees) under direct light or in a sunny window. A shop light with fluorescent bulbs set a couple of inches above the plants provides adequate lighting for seedlings. The light should be kept on for 18 hours a day. Raise the light as the plants grow. If you set the seedlings in a sunny window rotate them every day to encourage straight growth.
If you are brave enough to face the cold it is a good idea get out and check the landscape for potential problems. Look for storm damaged limbs on trees and shrubs and remove them promptly. Scout for early signs of insect pests such as caterpillar eggs on the bark of trees and the scaly sacks of bagworms. Both can be removed by hand. Check to make sure perennials have not heaved out of the ground. If so, gently tamp them back down with your feet.
Winter can be a good time to prune trees, especially the ones that tend to “bleed” in warmer weather. Bleeding is the term used to describe the excess flow of sap after a tree has been pruned or wounded. Birch, dogwood and maples are prone to bleeding. When the leaves are gone from the trees their structure is visible and shaping is much easier. Shaping is important when the trees are young. A tree should have properly placed scaffold branches to avoid problems in subsequent years. Older trees need to be pruned from time to time to remove dead, diseased or broken limbs. And the canopy can be thinned to allow more light to the plants growing under or near a mature tree.
When pruning a tree or shrub, always remove dead, broken and diseased branches first. Then look for limbs that are rubbing against each other or will be in the near future. Prune out the least desirable one-usually the weaker of the two. Any limbs that are a potential hazard should also be eliminated. Limbs with poor branch angles are often the ones that are damaged by storms. If the angle where the trunk and branch intersect is less than 45 degrees, consider removing it.
When thinning a tree selectively remove branches to open up the crown. But do not remove all the small inner branches along the limbs. You don’t want bare inner branches with all the growth at the outside or top of the tree. The growth on the ends will be top heavy and prone to breaking off during storms. The rule of thumb when pruning trees and shrubs is only removing up to one third of the plant in one growing season. And the use of pruning paint or sealers is no longer recommended. Best to make a proper cut just along the branch collar (where branch meets trunk) and let the tree heal over naturally.

Beth Nardone, botanist, is a resident of Hillsborough and is the Nursery Manager at the Belle Mead Co-Op.  Questions and comments can be sent to bethtanical@rcn.com