Gardening tips by month
January gardening tips: what to prune, feed & protect
A January garden checklist built from our plant care guides. Garden jobs depend on your local frost dates, so tasks are grouped for cold, moderate and mild climates. Find yours below, then tap any plant for full step-by-step instructions.
January in cold winters (zones 3–5)
A quiet month. Enjoy the garden and plan for next season.
January in moderate winters (zones 6–7)
A quiet month. Enjoy the garden and plan for next season.
January in mild winters (zones 8–10)
Pruning in January
- Apple tree: dormant prune (Dec 31 – Feb 11)
- Asian pear: dormant prune (Dec 31 – Feb 11)
- Black-eyed Susan: cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Blackberry: winter thinning (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Blueberry: winter renewal prune (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Boxwood: thin the interior (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Catmint: cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Chestnut tree: dormant prune (Dec 17 – Jan 28)
- Clematis: late-winter prune (Groups 2 and 3) (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
- Climbing rose: late-winter tidy and train (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
- Coneflower: cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Crape myrtle: late-winter shaping (no topping) (Dec 31 – Feb 11)
- Garden mum: cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Glossy abelia: late-winter thin and shape (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Grapevine: dormant prune (spur or cane) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Hazelnut / filbert: dormant prune and blight check (Dec 17 – Jan 28)
- Holly: winter shaping (Dec 17 – Jan 28)
- Hybrid tea rose: main spring prune (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
- Japanese maple: dormant structural prune (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Kiwi vine: main winter prune (Dec 17 – Jan 21)
- Medlar: light dormant prune (Dec 31 – Feb 11)
- Mint: cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Mulberry: dormant prune (Dec 17 – Jan 21)
- Ornamental grasses: cut back to the ground (Jan 14 – Feb 18)
- Panicle hydrangea: late-winter prune (Jan 14 – Feb 18)
- Pear (European): dormant prune (Dec 31 – Feb 11)
- Pecan tree: dormant prune (Dec 17 – Jan 28)
- Perennial salvia: cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Persimmon: dormant prune (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Pistachio tree: dormant training prune (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Plum tree: remove black knot galls (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Pomegranate: late-winter prune (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Quince: light dormant prune (Dec 31 – Feb 11)
- Raspberry: late-winter cane prune (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Rose of Sharon: late-winter prune (Jan 14 – Feb 18)
- Sedum (stonecrop): cut back last year's growth (Jan 28 – Feb 25)
- Serviceberry: late-winter renewal prune (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Shrub / landscape rose: annual cut-back (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
- Smooth hydrangea: cut back hard (Jan 14 – Feb 18)
- Spirea: late-winter cut-back (Jan 14 – Feb 18)
- Viburnum: remove viburnum leaf beetle egg twigs (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Wisteria: winter spur prune (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
Fertilizing in January
- Citrus (lemon, lime, orange): citrus feeding: late winter (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
- Tangerine / mandarin: citrus feeding: late winter (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
Spraying & disease prevention in January
- Almond tree: dormant fungicide spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Almond tree: brown rot protection at bloom (Jan 14 – Feb 4)
- Apple tree: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Apple tree: dormant fungicide spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Apricot tree: dormant fungicide spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Apricot tree: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Apricot tree: brown rot protection at bloom (Jan 28 – Feb 18)
- Asian pear: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Cherry tree: copper spray after leaf fall (Dec 15 – Jan 5)
- Crape myrtle: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Holly: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Magnolia: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Peach / nectarine: peach leaf curl spray (after leaf drop) (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Peach / nectarine: peach leaf curl spray (before bud swell) (Jan 7–28)
- Pear (European): dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Persimmon: dormant oil spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
- Quince: dormant fungicide spray (Jan 14 – Feb 11)
Soil, compost & mulch in January
- Apple tree: test the soil (every 3 years) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Azalea: test the soil (every 3 years) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Bigleaf hydrangea: test the soil (every 3 years) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Blueberry: test the soil (every 3 years) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Boxwood: test the soil (every 3 years) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
- Hybrid tea rose: test the soil (every 3 years) (Dec 31 – Feb 4)
Frost & winter protection in January
- Almond tree: trunk guards for winter (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Apple tree: trunk guards for winter (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Apricot tree: trunk guards for winter (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Apricot tree: protect blossoms from frost (Jan 21 – Feb 25)
- Asian pear: trunk guards for winter (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Chestnut tree: trunk guards for winter (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Pear (European): trunk guards for winter (Dec 15 – Jan 12)
- Strawberry: winter straw mulch (Dec 22 – Jan 19)
Other care in January
- Almond tree: clean up old nuts and husks (Dec 17 – Jan 28)
- Macadamia: collect fallen nuts (Nov 3 – Jan 26)
- Pecan tree: harvest pecans (Nov 17 – Jan 12)
- Pecan tree: pick up girdled twigs (Dec 1 – Jan 12)
- Pistachio tree: clean up old nuts and husks (Dec 17 – Jan 28)
- Strawberry tree: harvest the fruit (Nov 17 – Jan 12)
- Tangerine / mandarin: harvest tangerines (Nov 17 – Jan 26)