TOW N.H.Do in Jan. - Garden
Diane Whitehead (Mon, 05 Jan 2004 09:44:40 PST)

This week is a time of unusual low temperatures, with the map on the
weather channel showing the jet stream above Mexico! and Arctic air
flowing much further south than it ought to, so for the next few days
at least the following may not apply.

Pacific Northwest North America and Western Europe -

About all that I do this month is admire my snowdrops. If you pick
some and bring them in, you will find that most are scented.

A British bulb book suggests planting tubers of florist's anemones
every month of the year in order to have a succession of flowers.
This would have required buying them in the fall and storing some for
successional planting, but if you find a bag of them that you forgot
to plant, then you can try it this year. I'll have to wait till next
year as I planted all of mine in the fall.

Northern California (and southern Europe?) - ?

Southern California, low desert through to Texas (and Mediterranean?) -

If you stuck some tulip, crocus or hyacinth bulbs in the fridge last
month so that they have had 6 weeks of prechilling, you can plant
them this month. Water well and you will see growth in a month or so.
Nurseries will be selling summer-blooming bulbs (calla, canna,
crinum, dahlia, gladiolus, lily, nerine, tigridia and more) which can
be planted now, and if your area is frost-free, you can plant out any
holiday amaryllis (hippeastrum hybrids) that have finished flowering.
They will flower the spring after next.

Mountains and high desert - Continue regular inspection of any stored
bulbs, corms and tubers. Sprinkle a little water on any that are
shrivelling. Discard any with decay except for dahlias which can be
dusted with sulphur after any bad spots are cut out.

--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil