YOUR GARDEN GUY: January a good time to prune many plants

Now is a great time to prune Japanese maples. Branches and limbs are easy to see. Try to reduce the size of the tree without changing the shape by pruning just a little bit to start. Use loppers or pruners, not a hedge trimmer. It does take some practice, so prune a little at first.

Now is a good time to tame poison ivy. This vine can be easily identified in the winter. On trees, look for the vines that have what looks like a wooly covering. Use a large screw driver to pry the vine slightly away from the host tree and cut with pruners. Because the sap is so potent, wear disposable gloves and clean the pruners with soapy water. In the spring, if the vine starts to grow again at the base, spray it with a product like Roundup.

What's blooming now? Camellia Japonica. These evergreen shrubs have beautiful flowers January through March. They prefer morning sun to shade. Camellias not blooming? You probably have Camellia Sasanqua, which bloom October through December. Prune these shrubs after they bloom. Protect the blooms from freezing by cutting and bringing them indoors or covering the plants.

Parsley is a cold-hardy herb that nicely compliments plantings of pansies, adding an interesting foliage texture to the garden. Plant in full sun. Butterfly larvae love parsley!

January is the month to start a garden journal.

Plant seeds of annual poppies this month for a colorful flower show in spring.

Now is the time to prune any and all trees and shrubs that do not bloom in spring.

Todd Goulding provides residential landscape design consultations. Contact him at www.fernvalley.com or 478-345-0719.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 9:28 PM with the headline "YOUR GARDEN GUY: January a good time to prune many plants ."