December Garden Calendar

By John Chapman

Prepare for frosts now. Most frost protection is sold the day after a frost or freeze, when the damage for the whole season has already been done. Frosts and freezes usually occur on a clear night the night after a storm. It is possible to have 15 to 20 frosty mornings in December when Pacific storms move southward and bring snow in higher elevations. Sunshine will be at its lowest ebb, only 77 percent. Be prepared to cover those frost tender plants throughout December.

Insects this time of year include earwigs, crickets, and roaches and are some of the more pesky insects that may want to share your warm home so keep your doors closed and your door sweeps in good condition. Watch for aphids and thrips among your roses, bedding plants and vegetables. A daily hosing of these plants will help keep them under control. These are difficult pests to eliminate so be alert and consistent.

Black beetles among chrysanthemums and roses are nitidulids. Leave cut flowers outside for a few minutes before bringing them in, or you may bring these insects inside your home.

Flowers can still be planted so choose your favorite annuals and perennials, as well as bulbs, which need well-drained soil with a rich mixture of compost or other organic material. Water them thoroughly after planting and then about every 2-3 days as growth appears.

Chrysanthemums begin to die back after blooming. Now is the time to cut back dead or dying foliage and add a bit of nitrogen fertilizer.

Poinsettias will turn yellow if you water them with the foil sleeve still on because they will sit in the water. Take them to the sink, remove the foil sleeve, water until water comes out the bottom, let them drain for a few minutes and then put the foil sleeve back on.

Vegetables: Vegetable seeds that may be sowed are: beets, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, garlic bulbs, leeks, lettuce, parsley, peas, radishes, swiss chard, spinach and turnips.

Asparagus is best planted in a single row. Prune tops of mature asparagus when the tops turn brown.

Trees and shrubs: If sections of needles, or sometimes-small limbs of your large pine trees dry out and die, Aleppo pine blight is probably the cause. It is thought to be weather-induced shock. The trees will come out of it in the spring with no lasting effects. Mature fruit and shade trees should receive deep watering once a month.

Keep pomegranates well watered. Failure to do so may result in split fruits, caused by drought and then heavy irrigation. The water basin, for all trees and shrubs, should extend beyond the leaf drop or skirt. Pomegranates may be picked when the fruits are a glossy red. For maximum sweetness, leave the fruits on the tree until the first frost.

Are you hungry for citrus? The fruits may be a bit tart yet, but sweet oranges, navels, lemons, tangerines and tangelos may now be picked now but pick only as needed. Citrus fruit stores best right on the tree. The color is caused by the cold weather and is not a sign of ripeness. Grapefruit are the best in late spring or early summer. As the season wears on, the fruits will continue to sweeten.

You may experience some fruit splitting, but there is nothing to prevent it. Cold weather may also cause some yellowing of grapefruit leaves and other shrubs and trees. Yellow leaves during the cold months are caused because the shrubs and trees don't pick up the nutrients from the cold soil like they do when the soil is warm. There isn't anything you can do to prevent it nor fix it so save your money; don't worry, the leaves will green up next spring as the weather warms.

Frost-tolerant trees and shrubs may be set out this month. Dig holes three to five times the size of the root ball but not any deeper. Set the plant so the top of the root ball is ground level and then backfill. Don't amend the back fill when you back fill, put organic material or mulch on top of the soil to prevent moisture evaporation and retain heat in the root zone kind of like a blanket. Water either after back filling, or during the back fill.

If you're inclined to do some pruning in the cooler time of year, remove only dead branches and water sprouts. Perform major pruning or shaping in January.

Hold off fertilizing this month. Spring is the time to give these plants a shot of the growth food.

This is Christmas tree month, too! When you purchase your tree, try for a freshly cut tree. Feel the needles for dryness; the needles should be pliable. Cut an inch off the trunk, put it in a stand with a water reservoir and keep it filled. You'll be surprised how much water Christmas tree will use; sometimes up to a gallon a day. Last year I put a hand full of Ironite in the reservoir and my tree stayed fresh for about a month, but do not let it run low on water. If you're buy a living tree, don't bring it inside until about a week before Christmas and take it back outside right after the holiday. It will need some acclimating before being exposed to the colder weather outside and planting. Many living Christmas trees are Elderica and Allepo Pine trees that grow very well in our desert climate. If you want to live in a pine forest, buy living Christmas trees and plant them in your yard after the holidays and after a few years and your yard will be a forest, or you can donate the living trees to a school or park.

Lawns: Your over seeded winter lawn should be established by now. As we get colder weather your winter lawn may turn yellowish. You can correct the yellows by fertilizing every month with ammonium nitrate, 34-0-0 at the rate of three pounds per 1, 000 square feet. During the cold weather, ammonium nitrate is available to the plants immediately while ammonium sulfate, 21-0-0 needs time to break down so we use it during the warm weather months. If you use Ironite instead of the nitrogen fertilizer it will give you a very dark green lawn without the fast growth of nitrogen fertilizers. Water every 5-7 days, or more often if you notice a drying-out of the soil. Light or sandy soils dry out faster.

Seed Catalogs: Now is the time to order some seed catalogs - I mean, this week!!! Many seed catalogs are free upon request. There are many more seed selections available from catalogs than from nurseries. There are many new varieties in flowers or vegetables. Choose varieties with fewer than 70 days to harvest. We can grow a great variety of vegetables but our seasons are rather short.

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If you have a specific question for John please leave them on his voice mail 480-898-5636 or email him at john@johnchapman.com . Please leave your question, name, city, and phone number. For more of John Chapman’s gardening tips listen to news radio 620am KTAR Saturday morning 7:40-8AM. On Television watch John’s garden segments on Jan D’Atri’s Heart and Home on Sunday 12:30pm and replays Monday evenings 8 pm AZTV broadcast 27, Cable America 4, or Cox 13