For Northerners, January is another matter altogether, it is the gardening off-season. This off-season is a good time to daydream about your garden or new plants. If you have not done so already, put yourself on the mailing lists for the major national seed, bulb, and live-plant retailers. Their catalogs offer a wealth of free information, including planting and care details. Here are gardening tasks to do in January for growing regions in the United States.
All Regions
January is a good time to pore over garden catalogs and get orders submitted for spring gardening. Check for frost heaves around your outdoor plants and apply additional mulch as needed. If you have received a poinsettia plant (Euphorbia pulcherrima ) for Christmas, put it in a window where it gets as much direct light as possible. Water the plant when the soil surface is dry to the touch. Allow the water to come out of the bottom of the pot; however, do not allow the poinsettia to sit in water. If you are storing bulbs, corms, or tubers, check them to make sure that they are neither rotting nor too dry. Recycle your cut Christmas tree, plant or maintain your living Christmas tree. Prune fruit trees to promote healthy growth and fruit production. Clean and sharpen gardening tools.
Midwest
January is a frigid month in the Midwest; Garden maintenance and inspection are your primary chores.
Continue to inspect trees and shrubs for bark damage. If you find any, you most likely have a problem with voles, rabbits, or deer and need to take action. Once snow falls, remove it from paths to the garden. This gives you better access to the winter garden, enabling you to clear away fallen limbs, inspect shrubs for damage, etc.
Northeast
A January thaw is not unheard of in the Northeast, allowing you a bit of time for yard work.
If you live near the ocean, this is a great time to assess how well your trees and shrubs are holding up to the salt spray. Plan on replacing plants performing poorly with salt-tolerant plants next year. Once snow falls, remove it from paths to the garden for better access to clear away fallen limbs and inspect for damage.
Pacific Northwest
Temperatures are likely to be moderate enough in some areas to work outside on good days without being too uncomfortable.
Have row covers ready to protect tender plants on cold nights. Plant bare-root rose bushes, fruit trees, asparagus, and artichokes. Complete any trimming of perennials that you haven’t gotten to yet. Remove dead canes from rose bushes and dead limbs from trees and shrubs.
Pacific Coast
Temperatures are likely to be moderate enough in Northern California that you can still work outside on good weather days. Southern Californian gardeners can be much more active. In Northern California:
Have row covers ready to protect tender plants on cold nights. Plant bare-root rose bushes, fruit trees, asparagus, and artichokes. Complete any pruning on trees, perennials, and rose bushes that has not been done.
In Southern California:
Prune fruit trees before they bud and spray those susceptible to over-wintering pests with an organic dormant spray. Plant trees, perennials, bare-root rose bushes, and cool-season vegetables. They will probably need supplemental irrigation. Start pruning your rose bushes.
Southwest
In the high desert, there will be periods when you can’t do much outdoors, but the low desert is more garden-friendly with a reliable water supply.
Start seeds of cool-season crops like broccoli, cabbage, cooking greens, onions, peas, and turnips to transplant next month. Plant asparagus. Direct sow cool-season vegetables such as carrots, greens, and peas at the end of the month. Set out transplants of cool-season flowers like pansies, petunia, snapdragon, sweet pea, and violas. Start pruning roses. Keep watering evergreens if rain is not frequent enough.
Southeast
Many a Northerner would rather be in the Southeast in January. But that does not mean gardeners in the Southeast can let their guard down. Sudden temperatures drops and hard freezes do occasionally occur.
Shelter tender plants with row covers when temperatures take a dip. Test and amend the soil by continuing to add compost to the garden. Finish pruning wisteria, starting with the longest vines. Harvest winter greens. Plant trees and shrubs.
Florida
As a convenience to predict the weather, Florida is divided into three areas: North Florida, Central Florida, and South Florida. If you live outside of South Florida (USDA zones 10 and 11), you still must be ready for temperature swings, despite the generally favorable weather.
Take advantage of the more moderate weather to grow cool-weather crops such as spinach, lettuce, or peas. During cold snaps, cover tender plants with row covers. Sow seeds for vegetables that take a long time to grow, such as eggplant, peppers, and chiles. Prune raspberry canes down to the ground after they are done fruiting.
