Now's the time to plan for successful growing season

The period between the end of one growing season and the start of another is a good time to reflect on past garden successes and near misses, and to make plans for the changes and new approaches you want to implement this year.

Start with considering whether you have plants that are no longer growing in ideal conditions. The passage of time can sometimes leave plants that were once properly sited struggling to survive. Perhaps you have sun-loving plants that are becoming long and leggy in the shade of now mature trees; or a shade-loving plant that develops scorched leaves because a tall shrub that protected it from hot summer sun has been removed.

Or maybe you have less time to deal with recurring pest or disease issues and want to replace problem-prone plants with varieties that would be easier and less expensive to maintain because they are resistant to common problems.

Whatever your garden tells you, January is a good month to begin planning for the projects you want to tackle in the new garden year. Here are some other good projects to tackle this month:

General garden care

• Use recycled Christmas tree branches, swags, wreaths and other evergreen material as mulch in garden and perennial beds. Lightweight, open evergreens permit moisture to reach the soil but also insulate the roots and crowns of plants from the freeze-thaw-freeze cycle of Midwest winters.

• An alternate use for a holiday tree is to place it outdoors and decorate it with birdseed and suet ornaments that feed winter birds. Continue to supply fresh water for birds.

• When clearing driveways or shoveling walks, distribute snow loads evenly on shrubs and garden beds. Always shovel snow before using de-icing products.

• To protect plants, use calcium-based de-icing products rather than sodium-based ones.

• During periods of thaw, water garden beds, turf and plants that received salt spray from roads. If necessary, construct burlap screening to protect plants.

• Monitor plants routinely for signs of animal damage; install additional physical barriers, if needed.

• If small plants have heaved out of the ground, gently press them back with your hands; avoid compacting soil with heavy boots.

Trees and shrubs

• Pruning of deciduous trees and shrubs can be done this month, weather permitting.

• When tree branches become covered with ice, it's best to let the ice melt naturally.

• If heavy snow anchors evergreen branches to the ground, gently sweep off snow with a broom and then elevate the branches from underneath.

• During periods of thaw, water newly planted trees and shrubs, and all evergreens.

• Check plants that host Eastern tent caterpillars over winter: crab apple, apple, hawthorn, mountain ash, flowering cherry and other members of the rose family. If necessary, make plans to prune out any dark, iridescent egg cases encircling small twigs you find.

Flowering plants

• Amaryllis bulbs that have finished flowering will now send up leaves. Keep bulb and leaves in bright light and continue to water. Remove the flower stalk only after it turns yellow and withers.

• Flowering azaleas will bloom for months in a bright window when provided even moisture, occasional misting and quick removal of spent blossoms.

• Cyclamen plants will continue to bloom for a few weeks when plants are kept in a north window of a cool room (55 to 60 degrees), soil is kept evenly moist, never soggy, and spent blossoms are quickly removed. Avoid splashing the crown of the plant and foliage with water. Most people add spent plants and their soil to a compost pile after blooming stops.

• Start seeds indoors for cool season annuals that can be planted in garden beds or containers beginning in mid-April. Follow directions on seed packets to determine proper timing and germination techniques.

Houseplants

• Many houseplants are semi-dormant during winter and require less water and much less, if any, fertilizer.

• Succulent plants like cactuses and jade plants are dormant in winter and may require no water for up to two months. Give plants bright light and a cool room.

• Continue to monitor houseplants for insect problems associated with stress from challenging winter conditions: insufficient light, low relative humidity, and improper watering and fertilizing techniques. Common pests to scout for are spider mite, scale, mealybug, whitefly and fungus gnat.

Denise Corkery is a horticultural writer at the Chicago Botanic Garden.