Planting:

• Choose and plant sasanqua camellias and early long-blooming azaleas.

• Continue to plant winter herbs. Cilantro, chickweed, chives are all good choices

• Continue to plant cool season vegetables that can tolerate cooler temperatures.

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Feeding:

• Some cymbidiums start to bloom in December, but most bloom between February and March. Continue fertilizing cymbidiums until flowers open with Grow More Orchid Bloome Food 6-30-30. Keep them damp but not soggy.

• Feed shade plants for bloom; give adequate light.

• If you didn’t feed your cool-season lawn last month, do so now with Best Nitra King 19-4-4, but don't feed warm-season lawns (except for Bermuda that's overseeded with winter ryegrass).

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Maintenance:

• Purchase poinsettias early in the month. We have 6” Red Poinsettias on sale for $5.99 each! Check store for availability.

• Cut off flower spikes that have bloomed from dwarf foxgloves and delphiniums.

• It’s time to prune your roses and fruit trees. Prune deciduous fruit trees after their foliage has dropped. Wait until early spring to prune evergreens.

• Spray dormant deciduous trees and vines with horticultural oil such as Summit Year-round Spray Oil to kill scale, insects, spider mites and other over-wintering pests.

• Spray peach and nectarine trees with a fungicidal spray such as, Monterey Liqui-Cop to control disease. For a more effective control, use with Lilly Miller Superior Type Spray Oil.

• Order low chill, bare root trees to plant in December or January.

• Don't prune tropicals.

• Prune grapes, low-chill raspberries, and native plants.

• Prune wisteria by cutting off unwanted long twiners. Prune roots of vines that fail to bloom.

• We carry a large selection of pruning tools, from long handled pruners for hard-to-reach areas to short handled pruners, pruning saws, sharpeners and oil to keep them working as if they were new!

• You should have prepared your plumerias for winter dormancy by now. Be sure to place them next to a building or under a covered patio if they are in pots. Bring plants inside in frost areas. Be sure to protect outside plumerias that are in ground with frost cloth when frost or freeze is expected. Once leaves are dormant, hold back on water and fertilizer. You won’t need to feed them again until spring.

• Control rust on cool-season lawns by fertilizing and mowing them, including Bermuda that's over-seeded with winter ryegrass. Do not mow warm-season lawns, except St. Augustine (if it continues to grow).

• Don't water succulents growing in the ground.

• Keep cymbidiums damp but not soggy.

• Remember to keep all bulbs, especially potted ones, well watered.

• Water dichondra if rains aren't adequate.

• Turn off the irrigation systems of all other types of warm-season lawns once they have gone brown.

• Protect your plants from frost. Avocados, citrus and other subtropical fruit trees are especially vulnerable to freezing temperatures. Use Dewitt-N-Sulate Blankets or Anti-Stress 2000.

• Mulch around plants to improve the soil. Grangetto’s carries many types of mulches; to name a few; Kellogg’s Gromulch or Kellogg’s Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost & Cocoa Mulch.

• Protect cymbidiums' bloom spikes from snails. Use Monterey Sluggo, Sluggo Plus or Corry’s Snail & Slug Meal or Pellets as an effective method to control these garden nuisances. For a natural method of control use Copper Banding.

• Control aphids with insecticidal soap and beneficial insects. Safer Insect Killing Soap is a good organic choice.

• Prepare beds for planting bare-root roses next month.

• Harvest winter vegetables as soon as they mature.

• For control of weeds and crabgrass on your lawns use Green Light Crabgrass Preventer. For ground cover & flower beds use Green Light Amaze.

• Get ready for winter rains. Grangetto’s carries a full line of erosion materials such as, straw wattles, straw mats, silt fence, and jute netting. Grangetto’s also carries rain gear, such as Rain Boots & Suits, Tarps and Plastic Sheeting.

• Repair drain systems if needed. Grangetto’s carries a variety of drainage supplies, such as Drain Pipe, Grates & Boxes.

Be sure to read and follow label directions before purchasing and applying products. Product usage may vary based on weather conditions. Check with a Grangetto’s expert for more detailed information on product guidelines and gardening tips.