Most of us begin the New Year armed with plans, projects, and resolutions. The January garden provides a stark contrast as it hunkers down to wait out the winter, but there’s still plenty to do when the weather cooperates.

The month of January takes its name from Janus—the Roman god of Gateways and Journeys—who is often pictured looking both backward and forward at the same time. New Year’s resolutions spring from this tradition, and your January gardening can follow suit.

This is a great month for evaluating and planning, placing orders (January is National Mail-Order Gardening Month), preparing and getting organized. It’s also a good time to work on plants during dormancy, so they can begin their spring growing season with an advantage.

    Here are some gardening chores to tackle during January.


    Bare trees can reveal unexpected treasures, such as this hawk’s nest.

    Trees and Shrubs

    In January, you can continue these chores from December:

    • In warmer zones, protect tender trees and shrubs from surprise frosts by covering them with burlap draped over a simple wooden frame or plant stakes.
     
    • Inspect stakes and wires on newly planted trees, to make sure they are still straight and not damaging the bark.
     
    • Stake leggy plants to protect from wind or ice breakage.
     
    • Leave snow in place as an insulator – remove (gently!) only if the weight of the snow threatens to break the plant. Do not attempt to remove ice.

    You can also:

    • Prune dormant trees and shrubs now, including fruit trees. In warmer zones with winter-flowering shrubs, wait until just after they bloom.
     
    • Hold off on pruning spring-flowering shrubs until after they bloom.
     
    • Inspect your winterized roses – make sure they are still firmly tied and/or covered.
     
    • Apply anti-desiccants to newly planted evergreens.
     
    • Bring spring-flowering branches indoors for forcing. Good choices are forsythia, pussy willow, jasmine, and flowering quince.

    Zones 7 and warmer can:

    • Begin planting roses.
     
    • Plant bare-root, balled-and-burlapped, and container-grown trees and shrubs. It can be hard to identify plants when dormant, so hopefully you’ve made some notes during the growing season!


    These forsythia branches are already gearing up for spring.

    Perennials and Bulbs

    Continue these tasks from previous months:

     
    • Check your stored tender bulbs every couple of weeks. Discard any rotten ones. If they look withered or dried out, mist the packing medium very lightly with water.
     
    • Brighten up cold, gray days by bringing out your chilled bulbs for forcing indoors. Also plant bulbs that don’t require chilling, such as paperwhite narcissus.
     
    • Sow seeds in indoor flats for spring planting.

    Also, you can:

    • Clip faded blossoms from gift amaryllis.
     
    • Take a tour of your garden to see if any of your plants have been uprooted by frost heaving. If so, add extra mulch.
     
    • Zones 7 and warmer can plant summer and fall flowering bulbs.
     
    • Frost-free zones (11 and warmer) can plant spring annuals outdoors.
    Editorial Contributors
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    Danny Lipford

    Founder

    Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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