Though it’s only January, a neighbor’s candytuft is already in bloom. Spring will be here before we know it. (Getty Images)

Though it’s only January, a neighbor’s candytuft is already in bloom. Spring will be here before we know it. (Getty Images)

Start the new year off right with a visit to the nursery

The gardening season starts in January in the Northwest. Daffodils and candytuft are already blooming.

OK, my gardening friends, 2020 is behind us and it is time to start drooling over the seed catalogues and visiting garden centers to see what looks interesting this time of year.

During the next several weeks of rain storms — this is a La Nina year, so there’s likely to be lots of rain and mild temps — find a moment to take stock in the garden to see where you want to make additions and deletions, take some notes, and then get ready for spring. It will be here before you know it.

While January may seem like a slow month in the garden, it is a very busy one in the garden center. Just this week we started to receive our annual shipments of roses (we’ll eventually have more than 2,000!), all of which have to be pruned and potted while they are still dormant.

After those are done, our balled and burlapped nursery stock from Oregon arrives and has to be heeled into our soil beds or slipped into 15-gallon or larger plastic pots. New shipments of pottery, bagged compost, soils, fertilizers and tools all arrive during this month in anticipation of throngs of optimistic gardeners like you coming down to get your annual fix.

Believe it or not, while other parts of the country may be under several feet of snow, in the Pacific Northwest, the gardening season starts in January.

Next week is the start of our bare-root season for fruit trees. If you have any intention of planting fruit trees, then the time to do it is from mid-January through mid-March. This is when garden centers have the best selection, and you can usually find them on sale. Nurseries receive one shipment a year of fruit trees and, when they are gone, you have to wait until the next year. Considering it usually takes two years from the time you plant a tree until it starts producing fruit, the sooner you plant the better. Also remember, unlike the big box stores, garden centers only sell varieties that are best-suited for our climate.

Due to the increased demand for gardening products last year, I am hearing that there will be some shortages in various plant categories this spring. Growers sold through some of their stock they were saving for 2021 and because of COVID-19, had trouble finding enough labor to replant. Consequently, shop early and be willing to substitute varieties if you can’t find the ones you want.

Despite the scarcity, there will be no shortage of new varieties to hit the market in 2021. My buyers have been compiling a list of new introductions — it’s more than 100 new selections spanning from shrubs and trees to annuals and perennials. Like the latest model of cars, everyone loves new.

With our daily temps hanging around the 40s and 50s, I am predicting that it is going to be an early spring. While this has been an ongoing trend, with La Nina influencing this winter, some plants have barely gone dormant. My neighbor’s candytuft is already in bloom and my daffodils are 6 inches tall. Like I said, spring will be here before we know it.

Here’s to a new gardening year full of beautiful gardens, chirping birds and fluttering butterflies, bright and colorful flowers, croaking frogs, bountiful harvests and many sunny days of relaxing in our little pieces of paradise. After the tumultuous year of 2020, I am ready for the 2021 gardening season. Bring it on! Stay safe and happy gardening.

Steve Smith is the owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com.

Pruning 101

Sunnyside Nursery’s free gardening classes are back — but they’re online for now. A class on how to prune is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 16 via Zoom. With registration, you’ll receive a Zoom link to attend the online class. For more information or to sign up, visit www.sunnysidenursery.net/classes.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members Doug Symonds and Alysia Obina on Monday, March 3, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How to grow for show: 10 tips for prize-winning dahlias

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members share how they tend to their gardens for the best blooms.

What’s Up columnist Andrea Brown with a selection of black and white glossy promotional photos on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Free celeb photos! Dig into The Herald’s Hollywood time capsule

John Wayne, Travolta, Golden Girls and hundreds more B&W glossies are up for grabs at August pop-up.

The 2025 Audi A3 premium compact sedan (Provided by Audi).
2025 Audi A3 upgradesdesign and performance

The premium compact sedan looks sportier, acts that way, too.

Edmonds announces summer concert lineup

The Edmonds Arts Commission is hosting 20 shows from July 8 to Aug. 24, featuring a range of music styles from across the Puget Sound region.

Big Bend Photo Provided By Ford Media
2025 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend Increases Off-Road Capability

Mountain Loop Highway Was No Match For Bronco

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Mustang Convertible Photo Provided By Ford Media Center
Ford’s 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible Revives The Past

Iconic Sports Car Re-Introduced To Wow Masses

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

The 2025 Nissan Murano midsize SUV has two rows of seats and a five-passenger capacity. (Photo provided by Nissan)
2025 Nissan Murano is a whole new machine

A total redesign introduces the fourth generation of this elegant midsize SUV.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

The 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI sport compact hatchback (Provided by Volkswagen).
2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI is a hot-hatch heartthrob

The manual gearbox is gone, but this sport compact’s spirit is alive and thriving.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.