It’s the last day of January and Hellebores are blooming; Hamamelis shrubs are starting to push out their interesting flowers and now the forecast calls for snow at the end of the week. But let’s not worry about that right now.
Let’s consider some common tasks you can perform in your landscape. In late January.
Wayward branches
Prune out wayward branches on your shrubs. I used the shrubs above to teach my crew about developing their “landscape eye”. It refers to a professional’s ability to identify things that are amiss. In this case, branches that are growing sideways. Prune them out nicely and move on.
Perennials
Clean up perennials. You can easily pull out the spent greenery by hand. This should have been done late last year but it’s fine to do now. Rake and cultivate to make it look fresh. Wait for new growth in spring.
Safety: always double-check for needles when using your hands.
Roses
Roses are good to go in February. At this site the pruning seems radical only because it hasn’t been done in a long time. You can tell by how tangled the rose canes are; and by how many dead canes remain. Again, rake up nicely and cultivate the soil. Watch so you don’t remove too much soil. Blow the area thoroughly before leaving. I can’t wait to photograph this bed in spring. Note how bed edges are holding nicely from last fall.
Trees and shrubs
Remove any broken branches and play God. The oak (Quercus) on the right is usurping the space reserved for nandinas (Nandina domestica.) There will never be enough space here for a fully mature oak tree. It’s best to edit the tree out and let the heavenly bamboo reclaim its spot.
Pruning
More pruning! Hydrangeas should be deadheaded by pruning out the spent flowers. Astilbe on the right should be flush-cut.
European chafer beetle
Fresh damage by crows looking for European chafer beetle grubs. This damage is very fresh. Note all damaged areas for later top-dressing and over-seeding.
Hand pruning
Clean up sheared branch tips. Shredded tips look awful, Use nice sharp snips to correct the situation.
Cultivation
Lightly prune hedges bent out of shape by recent snows.
Prune roses. The specimens here aren’t the best looking roses. We’ll see what they look like in spring.
Cultivate beds and remove weeds. Take care not to remove too much soil. Note how cultivation gives you a nice fluffy look. Repeat cultivation periodically as you rotate through your site.
It’s still winter but there is lots you can do in your landscape as you cruise to spring. Teach your crews while you can.
