December Garden Calendar

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

It can get mighty cold in December in Zone 7, especially after the middle of the month. Be sure to mulch perennial beds, shrubs, and roses with 2 to 4 inches of mulch to keep soil warmer. Leaves make excellent mulch, and they are free - just don't overdo the depth. Put leftover leaves in the compost.

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.

"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments."
-- Janet Kilburn Phillips

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