Try grafting new fruit tree varieties onto your existing trees | Garden Checklist | Lifestyles

Try grafting new fruit tree varieties onto your existing trees. Fruit of the same species are easily grafted together — peach onto peach, plum onto plum.

Irrigate citrus and almonds at night if frost is expected.Apply pre-emergent herbicide in early February to flower beds and water-permeable paths.Provide frost protection. Move or cover tender plants. Use floating row covers or fabric and uncover plants during the day. Plastic is not recommended.It is now or never for pruning hydrangeas. Remove a third of the old wood for maximum bloom.Prune evergreen shrubs such as pittosporum, podocarpus, euonymus, lavender, sage, buddleja, rosemary.Apply one third of the needed annual amount of fertilizer to deciduous fruit, nut, and citrus trees. They need feeding two to three weeks before bloom.Fertilize annuals and perennials that were planted in the fall.Make certain a plant’s basic sun and shade needs are considered before planting.Bare root planting season ends in early February.Perennials: Lenten Rose (Helleborus), Salvia ‘Rose Pink’ (Salvia greggii), Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’, Euphorbia ‘martini’.Perennial Grasses: Needle Grass (Nassella), Pink Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’).Fruits and vegetables: potatoes and rhubarb.Annuals: phlox drummondii, plant from seed.Trees, shrubs, vines: sweet gum (Liquidambar), Chinese pistache (Pistacia chinensis), Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum).Annuals and perennials: annual phlox drummondii, sweet peas.Bulbs, corms, tubers: hyacinth (Hyacinthus).Trees, shrubs, vines: forsythia.Fruits and vegetables: navel oranges, spinach, chard.In years when rainfall is below normal, consider planting drought tolerant plants. Look for native or Mediterranean labels.When forsythia begins to bloom, apply pre-emergent herbicide to your lawn to prevent crabgrass.

Source: Adapted from A Gardener’s Companion for the Central San Joaquin Valley, 3rd edition, currently available from Fresno County Master Gardeners for $30. These can be purchased at our demonstration garden – Garden of the Sun (1750 N Winery (McKinley/Winery), open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 am to Noon, and via email at mgfresno@ucanr.edu. Gardening questions answered as well at mgfresno@ucanr.edu. Prepared by Terry Lewis, Master Gardener UCCE Fresno County.