January is the beginning of "spring" in Las Vegas. In a few short weeks, apricots, almonds and pears will be blooming and becoming vulnerable to late frosts.

This month is the time to do those dormant-season chores such as pruning, fertilizing and spraying. It also is time to add color to your yard. Browse through the plants at your nursery, you might find something unusual to add to your garden.

Here are some tasks for this month.

Seed catalogs: A favorite pastime for gardeners is to look for new varieties to try. Put yourself on the cutting edge of gardening. Nurseries may or may not carry the newest varieties, and if they don't, send for seeds or plants. Note the All-America Selections winners for the new year, as well as past winners. These varieties have proven themselves across the country and are good choices for you.

Vegetables and herbs: Order your seeds or plants early, because planting is just around the corner. Some old gardeners are already thinning their radishes, beets and lettuce. If you can find transplants of broccoli, green onions, asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke and kohlrabi, plant them. We generally have a warm spell, so start planting beets, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, carrots, collards, lettuce, mustard greens, Swiss chard, peas, radishes, spinach and turnips.

For those of you who love herbs, plant basil, borage, calendula, chamomile, chervil, cilantro, dill, garlic chives, thyme and chives.

Have you considered planting asparagus? It takes a few years to come into full production, but in the meantime it adds a grace to your yard. It needs good drainage to thrive. Don't harvest it for a couple of years, but if you're like most people, you will be sneaking a few to sample.

Try succession plantings this spring to create a continual harvest, rather than flooding the kitchen with produce you don't know what to do with. Plant at two-week intervals. Some good choices are: radishes, beets, carrots, lettuce, parsley, Swiss chard, Chinese greens, cilantro and dill.

If you are into growing transplants, start your tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and melons so they will be ready to go in the garden in March. Use a cold frame or a south-exposed window to grow the transplants. If you like peas, plant them directly in garden.

Soil preparation: Work copious amounts of organic matter into your garden soil to improve its tilth for flowers, vegetables and turf. Also add a balanced fertilizer and sulfur to counteract alkali and then till the amendments and fertilizer into the top 8 inches of the garden

Fruits: It's that time of year to fertilize your fruit trees. Your nursery has the right fertilizers to choose from. Spread it under the tree's canopy and irrigate into the root zone. Also, prune your trees before bud break. Cut out the dead, diseased, crisscrossing wood and watersprouts growing straight up from limbs. The purpose of pruning is to get light into the center of the tree so fruit develops properly. Try some new dwarf trees; they make excellent container plants.

Dormant spray: Spray fruit trees and roses with dormant oil to kill overwintering aphids, scales and mites. Apply it on a calm sunny day to the point of runoff.

Grapes: Prune grapes to generate larger grapes. Remove the gray-rough canes and then select four light brown canes to bear this year's fruit. Count out 10 buds along these four canes and nip off the rest. Now remove all other growth. Spread the canes along a trellis for easy picking. Finally, give them a small shot of nitrogen.

Roses: If you don't understand how to prune roses, plan on attending the two Rose Society pruning demonstrations. Both are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. One is Jan. 13 at the St. Rose Dominican Hospital Healing Gardens and the other is Jan. 20 at Dick Jackson's residence at 1112 Oak Tree Lane. Get rid of the roses you don't like and try some new ones. Prune your roses hard this time of year. First, strip off the old leaves to force them into dormancy. Get rid of dead, diseased, crisscrossing wood and all spindly growth found throughout the bushes.

Bare-root planting season: Garden centers are packed with bare-root roses and fruit trees. Look for varieties that require 600 hours or less chilling requirements, to get the most out of your trees in the coming years. Plant your bare-root plants before Presidents Day so they establish themselves before the heat sets in.

Soak the roots in a solution of root stimulator -- Superthrive, etc. -- overnight before planting. Save the solution to drench the plant after planting. Call the master gardeners at 257-5555 and have them send you "Becoming a Desert Gardener." This free booklet offers a list of fruit trees recommended for this valley.

Propagate grapes, pomegranates, desert willows and most old-fashioned shrubs during the dormant season. Make pencil-size cuttings. Then dip the bottom ends in rooting powder sold at your nursery, and plant immediately in pots filled with sand for good drainage. Insert cuttings so the top inch or two protrude above the growing medium and keep sand moist until leaves appear, then plant in garden.

Flowers: Plant calendulas, petunias and snapdragons for early spring color. Earlier plantings produce prettier blooms for longer periods of time. Fertilize fall annuals to spur on more flowers. And nip off fading flowers to generate more blooms as the season warms.

Bulbs: Plant gladiolus at two-week intervals to create continuous blooms through the summer. Make your last planting around Valentine's Day. Feed your tulips, daffodils and other bulbs as they begin showing foliage. Interplant pansies and violas with the emerging bulbs for added color through the spring.

Houseplants: Fertilize plants showing signs of new growth. Plants on the windowsill need attention on cold nights. Tender leaves will die if they touch the windowpane. At night, pull the plants away from the glass or close the curtains or blinds.

RECYCLE YOUR TREE

If you still have your Christmas tree, recycle it back into the environment. Take your Christmas trees to one of the 19 convenient drop sites before Jan. 15. For more information, visit www.springspreserve.org or call 258-3205.

GROWING TOMATOES

Join Leslie Doyle, the "Tomato Lady," at 10:30 a.m. today as she talks about her favorite subject: "Growing Tomatoes in Terrible Dirt and Desert Heat." She will speak at the Nevada Garden Club Center, 3333 W. Washington Ave. in Lorenzi Park.

Linn Mills writes a gardening column each Thursday. You can reach him at linn.mills@lvspringspreserve.org or at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve at 822-8325.