Planting and pruning in the winter garden

It’s a rainy January and while many plants in the garden are busy pulling the soil over themselves and taking their winter snooze, savvy gardeners are using this time to get a head start on the garden’s future.

Chris Bickle, general manager of SummerWinds Nursery in Novato, says her store is tempting shoppers with 40 different varieties from Star Roses and Plants in pulp pots. They each cost $29.99.

She’s most excited about three new varieties that emphasize a strong fragrance.

• Romantica Moonlight. “It’s a pale yellow with lots of petals and is highly disease resistant and very fragrant,” she says.

• Arborose Tangerine Skies. “This is a new dark orange climber with some disease resistance and a strong scent,” she says.

• Parfuma Bliss, she says, is a pale pink hybrid tea rose with large, cupped blooms and an apricot center. She adds that it’s extremely disease resistant with a strong fragrance.

There are also some ultra-dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit trees, including plums, peaches, apples and nectarines, in pulp pots that sell for $80.

Because winter is the best time to prune and proactively protect roses, she suggests arming yourself with some smart products.

• Gauntlet gloves ($25). “They will protect your hands and forearms up to your elbows from rose thorns,” she says.

• Loppers ($36). “This tool is helpful because it has a long handle so you can reach into the rose bush to prune limbs,” she says.

• Dormant sprays. These, she says, can smother fungal spores, prevent diseases such as rust, blackspot and powdery mildew, and kill overwintering insect eggs.

At West End Nursery in San Rafael, owner Chris Untermann has fruit trees and 2,500 roses ready to plant in Marin gardens. Each one costs $31.99 and “they are true bare-root roses,” he says. “The roots are not cut to fit into small pots.”

Untermann also has “bare-root fruit trees that we bring in from Oregon every year,” he says. “The four-in-one varieties are very popular, where you can get four varieties of apples on one tree. We also have pears and cherries four-in-ones.”

As far as ornamentals are concerned, he suggests that people consider the beautiful camellia.

“They’re very popular at this time of year,” he says. “The sasanquas are blooming now and the japonica varieties will be blooming in late winter and early spring.”

For those who want to fill in some blank spots or want to add some mass and interest to the garden, he suggests planting some evergreen grasses such as Lomandra Breeze or Platinum Beauty ($14.99 to $59.99). “They are always popular, but this time of year, with so few plants showing any color, they are a great accent with their texture and color.”

And, because it’s winter, he advises gardeners to prepare for possible frosty nights.

“Protect any frost-sensitive plants with frost cloth or even incandescent holiday lights that can add enough warmth to protect them from freezing if it does get cold,” he says.

Although nursery staff can help with pruning tips, you can also get expert advice at home from these sources:

• The Marin Rose Society has a generous amount of free literature and videos posted on its website, marinrose.org.

• UC Marin Master Gardener and Marin Rose Society member Don Chapman explains why and how to prune hybrid tea, climbing and floribunda roses at youtube.com/watch?v=zGyz4hWZscw.

Webinars

• Rose Gilardi, a longtime member of the San Francisco Rose Society who has a miniature rose named in her honor, will demonstrate the best tips and tricks for pruning roses, from shrubs to climbers, to get the best from the roses during growing season at 10 a.m. Jan. 27.

• At 10 a.m. Jan. 13, fruit tree pruning expert Elizabeth Ruiz will demonstrate the best way to prune fruit trees for a productive harvest season.

Both webinars are presented by Sloat Garden Center. Register for either or both at sloatgardens.com.

Show off

If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.

Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it, and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.

Don’t-miss event

• UC Marin Master Gardener Bob Mauceli discusses gardening with California native plants at 1 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Novato Library at 1720 Novato Blvd. Call 415-473-2050 or go to marinlibrary.org.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.