While so many others are stuck indoors looking at gardening catalogs, San Diego gardeners get to enjoy their yards in January with winter blooming perennials, annuals and succulents.
Shop for Winter Blooming Succulents
Aloes, echeveria and kalanchoe are just some of the succulents that add great winter color to San Diego gardens. Look for them now at local nurseries. Senecios and aeoniums will be actively growing now too, and this is a good time to take cuttings. Keep watering of succulents minimal unless we don’t get more rain and are dealing Santa Ana winds.
Make sure to empty bases of potted succulents after rains so they don’t sit in water. If we get hail, cover succulents with plastic drop cloths or shower curtains to keep the leaves from getting pitted.
Spray and Prune Dormant Plants and Trees
Prune roses by cutting out all dead wood along with branches that are crossing or twiggy. In general, you should leave five to seven good canes. But pruning varies depending on the rose variety.
If you want to learn how to properly prune hybrid teas, floribundas, shrub roses, climbing roses and others, the San Diego Rose Society is having a pruning demonstration at the Inez Parker Grant Rose Garden in Balboa Park on Saturday, January 13, 2024 from 9-11 am. The Master Gardener Association will also be there to clean and sharpen one pair of pruners or loppers, 2-inch blades or smaller, for free.
It’s also time to prune deciduous fruit trees. Make sure to find out how to prune each type of tree before you start by checking a reference book or taking a class. Otherwise, you might prune off this year’s fruiting wood. Spray dormant deciduous trees and vines and roses with horticultural oil before buds open.
Grow a Home Orchard
Last month, I noted that bare-root plants and trees are now in nurseries. Because of this, it’s a great time to start your own backyard orchard. You can designate a spot in your yard for fruit trees, or you can spread them out in your garden. Many are not only going to provide you with delicious fruit, they are also beautiful additions to a San Diego garden. If space is tight, there are dwarf varieties and even grafted trees that combine multiple varieties on just one tree.
Unless you’re located a good distance from the ocean, you won’t have many “chill hours” at your home. These are times when temperatures are between 32 and 45 degrees. Because of our low chill hours in San Diego gardens, we need to be careful which fruits and varieties we plant, or we won’t see good fruit production on our trees. UC Davis has a chill hour estimator which uses San Diego County weather stations. It can help you estimate the number of chill hours in your yard.
Fruit Trees That Need Fewer Chill Hours:
- Apples: Anna, Beverly Hills, Dorset Golden, Fuji and Gala
- Apricots: August Glo, Autumn Glo, Autumn Royal, Blenheim, Early Gold, Katy
- Cherries: Both sweet and sour cherries have needed more chill hours than we have in San Diego gardens, but there are now a few new varieties like Royal Lee and Minnie Royal that need just 200 to 300 chill hours.
- Peaches: August Pride, Babcock, Bonita, Desertgold, Early Amber, Earligrande, FlordaGrand, FlordaPrince, Midpride, Tropic-berta, TopicSweet
- Nectarines: Desert Dawn, Desert Delight, Rose, Panamint, Pioneer, Silver Lode
- Pears: Fan-Stil®, Flordahome, Hood, Kieffer, Monterrey, Moonglow, Pineapple
- Plums: Beauty Burgundy, Delight, Howard Miracle, Kelsey, Mariposa, Meredith, Methley, Santa Rosa, Satsuma, Sprite
- Pluots®: Emerald Drop, Flavor Grenade, Flavor King, Splash
- Figs, olives, persimmons and pomegranates need few chill hours.
- Tropical fruits like banana, avocado, citrus and tropical guava grow here also, but it’s best to wait to plant these until spring, after the danger of frost has passed.
Some of these trees are self-pollinating. Others need a second variety for cross-pollination. Let me know if you’d like more information about growing a home orchard. I’ve got a great list of helpful references.
San Diego Gardens Tips Source
A lot of information for San Diego Gardens comes from the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County. They are a great resource for all of your gardening needs including planting, pests, vegetables, and water use. They even have a free hotline where you can get your home gardening and pest control problems answered.