January is the ideal time to plant shrubs. Placed in their permanent site now they have the wetter winter months to get establ ished before the scorching

days of summer. There is enough to do in spring without adding the burden of hauling pots and fertilizer around and digging holes.

Horticulturists who hang out in agricultural colleges have issued new mandates about some procedures that we have always followed in the past.

The latest wisdom recommends that we not amend the hole. I had always done this and felt so good about the rotted compost and fertilizer that I nestled so carefully around the roots. Bad idea the experts say. It does make sense that if given an ideal environment in which to grow, the roots will not reach out into the less hospitable surrounding soil. What the roots will choose to do is grow around and around and mat up. Obviously not a good thing.

It is also a bad idea to add fertilizer to the hole. This has the possibility of burning the new roots that emerge and burdening the plant with producing new growth before it gets established. It is okay to add fertilizer to the area around the plant once it is in place, since this will be available slowly.

Resist the temptation, too, to prune when you plant. Wait until the plant breaks dormancy in the spring and the shrub has had all winter to produce roots to support this new growth. Then prune as needed. I sometimes ignore this suggestion if a plant has a lot of limbs that are going to blow around in the wind and disturb the roots.

Plant your new addition to the garden at the same depth it was growing in the pot. Dig the hole twice as wide as the root mass and fill in the planting site with the extra dirt.

The exception to this is plants like azaleas, mountain laurel and rhododendron that need impeccable drainage. Plant these high with some roots exposed and stack up pine bark around them. I can't seem to make myself do this and my azaleas and rhododendron neither bloom nor thrive in my Georgia garden.

Because I can't resist puttering around I ring my new plantings with a dammed up area so water doesn't run off. With insufficient rain for about six months, your new plants will need extra water.

The nice thing about planting in January is it affords those of us who ate too much divinity and red velvet cake over Christmas a way to work off a pound or two.