December Gardening To Do List

Zone 1

• Continue pruning deciduous trees and roses
• In coldest regions, protect roses with earth cones or wire baskets filled with insulating material
• Keep gift house plants as cool and bright as possible
• To prevent breakage, brush snow from evergreen limbs
• Keep living Christmas trees away from hot air registers
• Order seed and nursery catalogues

Zone 2

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water cymbidiums weekly until they bloom
• Water living Christmas trees (ice cubes work well)
• Prechill tulips and hyacinths for forcing indoors

Zone 3

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water cymbidiums weekly until they bloom
• Water living Christmas trees (ice cubes work well)
• Prechill tulips and hyacinths for forcing indoors

Zone 4

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water living Christmas trees (ice cubes work well)
• Prechill tulips and hyacinths for forcing indoors

Zone 5

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water living Christmas trees (ice cubes work well)
• Prechill tulips and hyacinths for forcing indoors

Zone 6

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water living Christmas trees (ice cubes work well)
• Prechill tulips and hyacinths for forcing indoors

Zone 7

Keep after those cool season weeds, like chickweed.

In spite of likely rain (and rare snow) this month, desiccation (drying out) is one of the biggest risk factors during the winter. Keep your outdoor plants watered, especially before and during cold snaps.

Protect your tender plants when cold snaps occur. Semi-tropical evergreen plants do best if you plant them in a sheltered spot and protect them with plant fabric or burlap on the coldest nights. My Fatsia does fine planted up close to the house where the bricks help keep it warm.

Prevent broken limbs and damaged plants by keeping snow and ice from building up on your plants, especially evergreens and conifers. Keep the holidays real by buying a real tree. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is a good native choice for a living Christmas tree. If you prefer a cut tree, be aware that Christmas tree production is under careful environmental scrutiny. The evidence so far suggests that, at least for most small-scale growers, Christmas trees represent a relatively benign agricultural activity as well as an important source of small farm income. North Carolina tree farmers predominantly grow Frazier fir, a native tree. There is a promising move toward organic Christmas tree growing - for more information, click here.

You can still plant late season spring bulbs, including tulips and daffodils early in the month.

• Order seeds
• Plant ornamental trees
• Apply dormant spray to ornamental trees
• Prechill tulips and hyacinths for forcing indoors
• Water living Christmas trees
• Sow frost-tolerant perennials
• Prune winter-flowering shrubs during or just after bloom
• Prune hardy deciduous and evergreen trees
• Protect tender plants from frost

Zone 8

• Order seeds
• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming plants
• Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs
• Plant fruit trees
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water living Christmas trees
• Plant bare-root roses
• Prune hardy dormant deciduous trees, shrubs, and vine
• Prune winter-blooming shrubs and vines after bloom
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
• Apply dormant spray to trees
• Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables
• Plant or transplant cool-season or winter vegetables
• Protect tender plants from frost

Zone 9

• Order seeds
• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming plants
• Plant winter- and spring-flowering shrubs
• Buy summer-blooming bulbs
• Repot cacti and succulents, if essential, once they have finished blooming
• Plant bare-root fruit trees
• Plant citrus
• Apply dormant spray to fruit trees
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water living Christmas tree
• Sow frost-tolerant perennials indoors
• Plant or transplant frost-tolerant perennial seedlings outdoors
• Plant bare-root roses
• Apply dormant sprays to roses
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
• Prune fall- and winter-flowering shrubs and vines just after bloom
• Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
• Plant or transplant cool-season or winter vegetables
• Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables
• Protect tender plants from frost

Zone 10

• Order seeds
• Set out cool-season annuals
• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming bulbs
• Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs
• Repot cacti and succulents, if essential, once they have finished blooming
• Apply dormant sprays to fruit trees
• Plant bare-root fruit trees
• Plant citrus
• Protect citrus from frost damage
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water living Christmas trees
• Plant winter-blooming perennials
• Plant bare-root roses
• Apply dormant spray to roses
• Plant bare-root shrubs and vines
• Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines
• Prune fall- and winter-flowering shrubs and vines just after bloom
• Plant bare-root trees
• Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
• Sow cool-season vegetable seeds
• Plant cool-season vegetable seedlings

Zone 11

• Purchase living Christmas tree (but don't bring it indoors until a week -or less- before Christmas)
• Plan next year's garden
• Clean and oil garden tools
• Drain and winterize garden mechanical equipment according to manufacturer's instructions
• When you bring in the living Christmas tree, keep it away from heating registers
• Keep gift plants in a cool, light place. Slit foil at bottom of pot to keep roots from drowning.

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