Welcome to 2010! “Januarius” was the eleventh month of the Roman year, named for Janus, the two-headed god of doorways. In the New Year, we look back at our garden successes (and failures) and look forward to a wonderful new year of fragrance, flavor, and color.

Please Note: Our winter hours are Mondays through Saturdays, 9 AM to 5 PM.

It’s a month for enjoying the winter wildlife attracted to our feeders, and for pondering what went wrong (and what went right) in our gardens this past year. It’s also a great month for getting tools ready for spring.

At Payne’s Nurseries, we’re already gearing up for spring: our Easter lilies, an important early spring crop, are already a couple of inches tall in our greenhouses at our South store at 715 St. Michael's Drive. This month we’ll also start to bring our pots of forced spring bulbs up into the warmth so they can begin to form bloom spikes.

Our garden seeds will be on display for sale near the end of the month (at Payne’s South, we already have 2010 “Botanical Interests” seeds in). And don’t forget that Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it!

Now here’s what to do in your Northern New Mexico garden in January. (Many thanks to various County Agricultural Extension Services, to Charlie Nardozzi, Horticulturist, of the National Gardening Association, and to Dr. Leonard Perry of the University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science, for some of the material in the sections that follow.)

Annuals & Biennials

Do you have any 2009 seed left over for bachelor’s buttons (Centaurea cyanus), calendulas (Calendula officinalis), California poppies (Eschscholtzia californica), farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena), foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), hollyhocks (Alcea rosea), annual larkspur (Consolida ajacis and regalis), love-in-a-mist (Nigella sativa), annual poppies (Papaver rhoeas), snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), or wallflowers (Erysimum cheiri)?

Then try sowing the seeds now around your garden. Don’t worry about the cold; all these seeds are hardy. You can even sow them on top of the snow: as the snow melts, the seeds will sink into the soil, and chances are good that next spring you’ll have a bunch of pretty babies coming up all over.

Bulbs, Corms, & Tubers

Amaryllis: What do you do with your amaryllis after their flowers are spent? The info from “What To Do In December” is worth repeating here:

• Let the leaves emerge and grow.
• Keep the bulb watered and fertilized lightly through the winter (feed once a month with a standard house plant food at ½ strength).
• After all danger of frost has passed outdoors, put the bulb outdoors in a shaded spot. Don’t let it dry out. If by this time the roots have filled its pot, you may need to repot it into a container 1-2 inches larger in diameter.
• Keep watering and fertilizing throughout the summer.
• In early fall of next year, bring the bulb back indoors, and gradually decrease the watering to almost nothing until the leaves all die back.
• When the leaves have died back, let the bulb “rest” unwatered for about eight weeks in a cool dry spot.
• Resume watering, and the bulb should resprout. (It may not bloom again, however, until the following year.)

Also, if we have some warm days and you notice that your outdoor bulbs are beginning to poke their noses out of the ground, it’s no use standing there and hollering at them to go back — bulbs never listen. Use branches from your discarded Christmas tree as mulch over the bulb beds. That will help trap warmer air and keep the new growth from freezing.

Composting

Keep adding vegetable scraps to that compost heap!

Containers

Indoor containers often develop a white “frost” on their inner surfaces. This is caused by a build-up of salts from water-soluble plant fertilizers, and if left unchecked indefinitely, can eventually begin killing off beneficial soil organisms necessary for plant roots’ digestion of the food you are giving them. If you’re in the habit of fertilizing with every watering, once a month hold off and just water thoroughly with plain water. That will help flush out the excess salts from your containers.

If you have some empty used containers lying around that you plan to use again, now’s a good time to sterilize them with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Wearing waterproof gloves, scrub the containers down inside and out, making sure to get out any soil or potting medium clinging to the insides of the pots. (Soil-borne disease organisms can overwinter in such detritus to infect any new plantings.) Let the pots air dry, then store them in a dry place.

Equipment

Now’s a good month to sharpen the edges of all your tools: clippers, spades, hoes, trowels — you name it. Check wooden handles for splinters, too, and if you find any, get some sandpaper and sand the surfaces smooth again.

Prevent salt damage to plants and trees by using only environmentally friendly salts, kitty litter, granular plant fertilizer, or sand on icy walks and driveways.

Fertilizing & Mulching

If you mulched your shrubs and trees, make sure that you left a 2-inch gap between the mulch and your tree trunks. Otherwise, mice can burrow under the mulch and chew a ring around your tree’s trunk, thereby killing the tree.

Greenhouse

Grow Lights: If you start seeds or grow plants under grow lights or fluorescents, bear in mind that, generally, a fluorescent tube stays at full luminosity only about 2 years. Check your tubes for signs of age: if a tube has a dark ring on each end, it needs to be replaced (you may not be able to tell it’s dimmer than it was, but the plants you put under it sure will).

Systemics: Be alert for greenhouse pests, particularly spider mites, mealybugs, and scale. Consider using a systemic insecticide for potted indoor plants: systemics work by being taken up via the plant’s roots and distributed to all the cells in the plant’s system. When the pest takes a bite of the systemic-treated plant, it gets a mouthful of poison and dies. CAUTION: Never use systemic insecticides on herbs, vegetables, fruits, or any plant from which you or your pet like to nibble — the systemic insecticide will make all parts of the plant toxic if eaten.

Grasses & Lawns

The advice from December still holds: Don’t tread on frozen grass unless it has a couple of inches of snow over it to protect it. Otherwise, you risk damaging the grass, which may translate to dieback in your lawn next spring.

Herbs

See “What To Do In December” for advice on growing herbs indoors!

Houseplants and Tropicals

Guess what the most common indoor houseplant problem is! Pests? Nope. Underfeeding? Nope. Improper lighting? That’s a good one, but it’s not the most common.

Give up? The most common indoor houseplant problem is … overwatering!

In dry Northern New Mexico, indoor gardeners are often paranoid about letting their plants dry out, so we tend to overcompensate, drenching the poor little things till they start to wilt (which makes us think they’re not getting enough water, so we drench ‘em more!).

Why is overwatering bad? Overwatering prevents roots from getting oxygen, resulting in root die-off and plant wilt, with the yellowed and dropped leaves that go along with it. To avoid overwatering, don’t feel the surface of the soil; you can have a soggy root system when the surface is quite dry. Instead, get a water gauge at either Payne’s store and stick the tip far down into the pot to see if you need to water. Another way, which we practice a lot in the nursery, is to heft the pot. Pick it up; if it’s light, it probably needs water.

Some other watering tips:

• Never allow water to stand for more than a few hours in the catchment basin under your plant’s pot. It can choke off the oxygen the plant’s roots need.
• Make sure your growing medium is well-drained. Look for perlite (little white granules) in your growing mix; the more perlite you see, the better drained the mix will be.
• Use pots with at least 1 drainage hole. And if you sink pots with drainage holes into a gravel-lined, holeless, decorative planter, regularly remove those pots from the planter so you can dump out any water that collects in the bottom of the planter. Otherwise, stagnant water collecting in your holeless planter can clog the holes in your pots and prevent oxygen from getting to their plants' roots.
  
• Large plants in small pots will need water more often than large plants in large pots.
• Plants in homes with forced-air heat dry out faster than plants in homes heated in other ways.
• If in doubt about whether you’re overwatering your plant, don’t water it — bring it in to Payne’s! We'll be happy to look it over and make our recommendations.

Wash Me! Remember that accumulated dust can coat houseplant leaf surfaces, reducing their ability to photosynthesize chlorophyll. A monthly spray with lukewarm water (in the utility sink or the bathtub) will refresh your plant greatly (just be sure to cover the soil in its pot with plastic so it doesn’t get waterlogged while you’re attending to its aerial parts).

Leggy Geraniums: Are your geraniums getting leggy? Try rooting some clones!

1. Dip a sharp knife in alcohol, or a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water.
2. Take 4- to 6-inch stem cuttings, strip off the bottom set of leaves.
3. Dip the cut stem-ends into Payne's rooting hormone powder.
4. Stick the cuttings in a pot filled with moist peat moss or perlite (take care not to rub off the hormone powder when you insert the cuttings into the soil — I make holes with a pencil first).
5. Keep the soil just moist, and your cuttings should root in a few weeks.

We love you, Mister Sun: Are you rotating your houseplants to make sure all sides get equal access to the winter sunshine? One quarter turn every two days can keep them from looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa … Most houseplants like bright sun, but beware of placing their leaves and stems right up against your window glass. At night, when winter temps plummet, the glass can conduct the cold right into the plant, damaging it (Rand had a basil plant killed this way). Also, if there’s a heating vent under the window where your plant is, it can dry out your plant badly, so place a humidifer nearby or put your plant’s pot onto a tray of moistened pebbles to raise the humidity.

Wood Heat Humidifer: If you heat with a wood stove, keep a pot of water on top of the stove. The stove will heat the pot, releasing the evaporating moisture into the air. This helps prevent nosebleeds in humans — and your plants will love you for it!

Warm Hand Luke: And don’t forget to water your houseplants and tropicals with lukewarm water — water that is just slightly warm to the touch. Water straight from the tap can be very cold and shock the roots of your plants, leading to leaf-drop and retarded growth.

Perennials

As we said in December, you may start seeds of hardy perennials this month. Some, such as most seeds from plants in the daisy family, require no cold treatment to stimulate germination. Others do. The information on your seed packets will point you in the right direction. (If your packet tells you to sow your seeds in pots and place the pots outdoors for the winter, you are dealing with a species that needs stratification.)

Pests & Diseases

Spider Mite Horrors (repeated from December): Spider mites proliferate in the dry air of Northern New Mexico winters. They suck plant juices, stippling the leaves and weaving webs between branches. To see if your plants have spider mites, mist them lightly. The droplets of water will cling to the webs, revealing them. To deal with the critters, keep the humidity in your plant area high. You can use a humidifier; group all your houseplants together, so that when you water the evaporating drops mist your plants; or you can place your pots in waterproof trays filled with gravel and water. And spray your infected plants daily for two weeks — both sides of the leaf — with a miticidal soap. (Not just any insecticidal soap will do, because spider mites — are you sitting down? — are not insects! They are teeny, weeny, meany little crustaceans, distantly related to, well, crabs. So make sure the insecticide’s label explicitly lists “mites” as one of the critters the product targets.) You can also try a soil dunk: Wrap the surface of your pot with aluminum foil to keep the soil from dropping out. Then turn the pot upside down and swish the leaves and stems in a sinkful of soapy warm water.

Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me: If your indoor potted plants develop clouds of teeny black fruit fly-ish critters, you probably have an infestation of fungus gnats. In the adult stage they’re just annoying, but they lay their eggs among the roots of your potted plants, and the miniscule larvae chow down on the organic matter in your pots, which can include your plants’ roots. To control them, use sticky traps (plastic or paper squares coated with a gluelike substance); cover the surface of the soil in your pots with a layer of fine sand to inhibit further egg-laying penetration; or make up a solution of insecticidal soap according to the instructions on the label and drench the soil in your pots with it every few weeks.

Planting and Transplanting

Germination Test: Do you save seeds of annuals and vegetables from year to year? Now’s a good time to check them for viability. Place 10 seeds of the same variety between two sheets of moist paper towels and tuck the towel sandwich into a loosely tied plastic bag. Place the bag in a warm spot out of the direct sunlight, and check it every few days. If the seeds are still viable, you ought to get at least 8 of the 10 to sprout (80% germination). If fewer than 8 sprout, you know you’ll need to sow extra-heavily come spring or order fresh seeds from your friends at Payne’s!

Roses

We've now published a complete list of the roses Payne's expects to be offering for sale in 2010!  We'll have a wonderful selection, i9ncluding lots of fragrant cultivars and some fabulous climbers and Hybrid Teas.

• For a complete alphabetical list of the 2010 roses we're growing for you, organized by rose type, click here.
• For the same list organized by color, click here.
• For the same list organized by strength of perfume, click here.
• For information on how to make your Payne's roses thrive in Northern New Mexico, click here.
• If you'd like to reserve your favorite roses for pick up in the Spring, click here.
  

Shrubs and Trees

Cold & Heavy: If we get more heavy wet snow, be sure to shake it off your evergreens and shrubs. The branches and stems of dormant trees and shrubs tend to be more brittle than when the plants are in active growth, and can snap off from the weight of a heavy wet snow. If you find a branch that has partially split from the main trunk, tie it back into place and use some long screws to secure it (insert them so that they alternate coming from each direction). If you catch this wound early, the tree might callous over the wound and heal it.

Free Fireplace Starters: If you have a fireplace or wood heater, try saving the old dried branches, which make superb fire starters! And don’t forget to pull the mulch at least 2 inches away from your shrub and tree trunks so that burrowing rodents can’t girdle the bark. of your evergreens. They

Recycle That Tree! Did you buy a fresh cut Christmas tree from Payne’s this year? If you have the room in your yard, consider placing the tree lengthwise on the ground for the wild birds to use for cover and perching. If you'd rather give your old tree to the city to recycle for mulch, we have bins outside both our stores this month in which you may put your old cut tree. (Please only recycle your cut tree in these bins; we cannot accept garden or home refuse).

Don’t Spray Yet! Don’t dormant oil spray your fruit and ornamental trees until daytime temperatures are a minimum of 50ºF. In Northern New Mexico that’s anytime from the middle of February to early March. Make sure you apply the dormant oil before any color shows from the branch tips of your deciduous trees.

Vegetables & Fruits

Keep checking your stored winter produce — potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, and winter squash — for signs of decay. Use or throw into the compost heap any vegetables that are turning soft ... When the snow melts, check your strawberry bed to see how the mulch you added last fall is doing. Replenish the layer if the first one has rotted down.

Vines

Vinesicle Alert: If you have vines growing up the side of your house under your eaves, be on the alert for snow melt off the roof dripping down into the vine, then freezing into heavy icicle sheets.Left to accrue, the ice can eventually get so heavy it can snap off the dormant vines. Carefully knock down icicles as they form to prevent weight build-up.

Watering

Watering Reminder: We repeat from December: If there hasn’t been any snow for a while, water your yard deeply twice a month whenever sunny days appear to thaw out your hoses. When you’re done watering, be sure to let your hoses drain thoroughly before recoiling them. Just stretch them out with both ends open, preferably on a gentle slope. Otherwise, the water left in the hose may freeze and split the hose. And make sure your outdoor faucets are covered to protect them from freezing!

Weeding

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Wildlife (& Domestic Animals, too!)

How Much Is That Doggie In the Snowdrift? Do you keep your dogs outdoors year round? If so, please make sure they have access to an insulated shelter where they can come in out of the freezing temperatures. (Wind chill can drop night temps to below zero.) You can make a cheap, warm shelter out of straw bales topped with planks to keep the wind from turning your pet into a poochsicle.

Fill ‘Er Up! Keep those suet block holders and black oil sunflower seed feeders filled! There is very little for wild birds to eat when snow is covering the ground. Crows and jays also appreciate cracked corn ... Some birds prefer eating off the ground and not from the feeder. If your yard is snowy, a piece of plywood, old carpet remnant, or cardboard makes a good ground level platform to scatter seed upon. Remember also to provide water for the birds. It’s often very difficult for them to find in the wintertime.

January Projects

• Inventory your gardening tools and supplies.
• Save up to buy a heated outdoor bird bath.
• If you have plants bordering a road or pavement that is salted in winter, erect a burlap screen between the edge of your property and the pavement to keep the road salts from damaging your plants.
• Go through your stash of old gardening magazines, clip out the articles you really, really want, and set up a file in which to store them for spring reference.
• Start a garden book club. Invite your friends to read and discuss favorite gardening books. Either have everybody read the same book, or have each member of the club read a different one and introduce it to the rest of the group.