What to Do in the Garden in January

• Happy New Year!
• January is usually our quietest month in the garden.  With not much to do outdoors, we can use this time to prepare for spring.  Order annual seeds and perennials from catalogs; take note of suggestions for trying something new in the garden.
• If the ground is not frozen and soil is workable, you can relocate any perennials, trees, shrubs.
• Give bulbs a dressing of bone meal early this month just to give them a little boost.  (Some gardeners are reporting premature budding and flowering of forsythia and narcissus!)
• Sweet peas can be sown in the later part of this month.
• Sow onions, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and other cold weather seeds indoors for setting out next month in cold frames.
• Asparagus, horseradish, and Jerusalem artichoke can be planted this month.  Remove dead tops of old asparagus plants now to prevent damage to any new growth shoots.
• If you can still find pansies and violas, you can plant some in borders for winter into early summer color.
• Always water plants well before a freeze to insulate the roots and make sure they have adequate mulch.  If you see “heaving” around any plants, push them back into the soil as soon as possible and cover with mulch.
• Fertilize winter-blooming camellias after they flower.  January, February, and March are good months for fertilizing trees and some shrubs.   Lawns that needed lime in December can still use their dose this month.
• Spraying dormant oil is one of the most important activities during January or February to protect holly, boxwood, camellia, photinia, and euonymus (broad-leaved evergreens) from scale, spider mites, aphids, etc.  Roses, most perennials, trees, and shrubs benefit from this dormant oil spraying as it helps curtail insect problems later in the season.
• Turn those compost piles!
• Get the lawn equipment cleaned, repaired, sharpened, and lubricated.

Compiled from various sources including:  Mid-South Gardening Guide, weekendgardener.net, and msucares.com.