January Arizona Low Desert garden guide:
- Prune modern roses – remove the dead, crowded, or crossed canes that inhibit air circulation in the plant. For hybrid teas and grandifloras, cut back 1/3 to 1/2 of the bush. Leave 4-8″ of plant for optimal blooming. Remove all foliage and the small twiggy growth. For Floribundas and miniatures, leave 8-12 canes and more of the small growth. Wait to prune Old Garden roses until after their spring bloom.
- Feed annuals – yellowing on older leaves at the base of the plant may mean nitrogen deficiency in flowers and vegetables. Apply nitrogen fertilizer and continue to incorporate compost in your garden to improve the soil.
- Feed citrus – Fertilize your citrus in January or February with 1/3 its annual nitrogen requirements. Scatter the granules at the tree’s canopy edge and slightly out to reach the feeder roots. Water deeply after application.
- Control aphids. Spry all affected areas with blasts of water from the hose, squish aphids with your gloved hands and remove any heavily infested leaves. Do not over-water or over-fertilize which will produce abundant growth and attract more aphids. It is not recommended to spray with pesticides to kill aphids because it eliminates beneficial insects that consume them.
Arizona January Planting Guide:
- Bare-rood deciduous fruit trees. Choose self-pollinating types such as Anna and Dorsett Golden Apple, Gold Kist, and Katy Apricot, Bobcock, Bonanza Miniature, Desert Gold and Tropic Beauty Peach.
- Sow seeds for pepper and tomato seeds indoors to prepare for transplanting after frost has passed. Mid February to mid-March you can transplant.
- Sow seeds for beets, bok choy, carrots, chard, collard and mustard greens, green onions, leaf lettuce, peas, leaks, rutabagas, radishes, spinach and turnips. Plant potatoes. Set out transplants for asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, chinese cabbage and cauliflower.
- Flowering Plants – Plant Calendula, nasturtium, pansy, snapdragon, stock and sweet alyssum.
Do you need help with your back yard landscape or garden? Call Arizona Living Landscape & Design 480-390-4477 or e-mail ContactUs@LandscapeArizona.com