Flower & Garden Magazine
JANUARY, 1960
Flower & Garden Magazine – An Active Time of Planting, Pruning January is an important month for planting or transplanting trees and shrubbery. In the South the period of dormancy is so short that it had best be done at once.
Many summer flowering things not already pruned may be pruned now. Vitex, crape-myrtle and altheas may be grown as standards. Remove all low growth on the main trunk and top them severely. Cassia (corymbose) is lovely grown as a standard.
A new althea, ‘Bluebird,’ is said to be a floriferous bloomer and vigorous grower. The flowers are five inches across, wide, saucer-like and blue.
Few shrubs have a longer blooming season than althea if not allowed to set seed. Altheas also have the virtue of blooming when quite small.
Late January and early February are my favorite times to plant roses. Earlier the weather may be balmy for two weeks and then dip low, killing new tender growth. By the time they start growing if planted late this month there will not be any more killing cold.
I order as soon as catalog’s arrive. Most rose growers will ship when designated. When the plants arrive, unpack, trim broken canes and roots, then immerse the whole plant in water overnight.
A clean garbage can is good for this although my bathtub has been pressed into service. Hill up around newly planted canes to keep them from drying out, removing earth as warmer weather approaches.
Curcuma (Zingiberacea) M1 for the mid-southern states of MId-America by Kitty Simpson Louisiana roots should be ordered soon. This showy plant should be grown more. C. longa grows to six feet high, the leaves canna-like but much deeper ribbed, from 1% to two feet long.
In July and August, they send up dense spikes over a foot long. The flowers are yellow but the bracts papery, shaded lavender and pink-lavender. Cut, the foliage and spikes of blooms last for more than a week. C. petiolate is smaller growing. The flowers of both are identical except that this blooms later, stretching the season of bloom.
The roots are fleshy, and where the ground freezes deeply should be dug and stored as dahlias are. Planted four inches deep in good rich soil, and watered well these plants, commonly called “queen lilies,” are really Beautiful and unusual.
In the test plot at Hodges Garden (Many, La.) I saw the new orange rose ‘Tanya,’ (Jackson & Perkins) in bloom. This rose has done wonderfully well in the South, and I predict it will be a Southern belle.
All the winter-blooming plants like pansies, calendulas, larkspur and so forth will benefit from soluble feeding. Cloves of garlic, grown in a sunny kitchen window, make a note of green and the young tender foliage may be cut to add just the right fillip to winter salads or stews.
Soon snails and slugs will be doing untold damage. At the first slimy sign put out Bug-geta pellets where they will get them.
Do put out suet, peanut butter, crumbs and seed for the songbirds that spend the winter with us. See that they have water when everything is frozen.
Mucu has been written about garden planning. The development of a pattern from which a garden is constructed is challenging. In the final analysis such planning should be considered as design. Development of this pattern is a perfect project for a gardener during this month of relatively little activity outdoors.
A cardinal principle to keep in mind is that “simplicity is the keynote of good design.” One of my favorite professors put it this way: “The Romans knew when to stop!” Unfortunately, very few gardeners know when to stop. They keep adding materials until all evidence of design is lost.
As plans are developed for the home grounds, go farther and investigate possibilities of helping on civic improvements in your community. Practically everyone is or can be interested in projects of civic beautification. Here again, one of the most valuable services that can be rendered is to insist on development of adequate plans for the project.
January is a good month for planting large trees and shrubs. There are many balmy days of quiet weather that are suitable for outside activity.
Throughout our section plants are dormant and will remain so for about six more weeks. All visible activity of the plant has ceased and there is practically no shock as a result of transplanting.
Now is the time to move plants that have outgrown their space, or to thin out plants that are crowded and competing for food and water.
Prevent unnecessary damage to plants, especially root systems, and water well after planting any plan to plants if their tissues dry out following transplanting.
With all the literature that is now available, gardeners can get help on nearly every subject related to gardening by reading. Horticultural research is opening many new opportunities for successful gardening adventures.
Much of the labor has been taken out of gardening by the use of more scientific methods. A garden today, even though a “thing of beauty,” need not be “a job forever!”
Miscellaneous Tasks
Heavy pruning, often referred to as corrective pruning, should be done this month. Check the available food and water for the birds in the garden.
Bring in a few branches of the flowering shrubs or even the shade trees for a real touch of spring by means of forced branches.
Winter clean-up of garden debris is always in order. Do your dormant spraying now with the miscible oils to check scale insects and other tough “critters.” This may save long hours of anxious work in the spring.
Feed house plants by watering once a month with liquid manure or special food, depending on the plant. Keep a regular check on the moisture in the garden. Water in case of doubt.
A wet soil is the best insulation against freeze damage in the soil. When looking over the new catalogs received this month, make out your lists and place your orders early. New varieties are nearly always in short supply.
Inspect stored tubers and bulbs to make certain they are keeping well. Rot is a common enemy of these stored bulbs.
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Coyalita Linville
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